Evolution of a Hero
by Khaleesi Inara
Summary: Lash returns to Sky High with the hope to lay low and be ignored. With the advent of students from a compromised school and others unwilling to forget the past, his hopes are dashed. He has to evolve to become the hero he's not sure he wants to be.
1. Chapter 1

All recognizable Sky High characters, places, and events belong to Disney and its affiliates. I am making no money from this endeavor. As for any original content: Any likeness, similarities, and resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, and events are unintentional and purely coincidental.

If anyone wishes to volunteer to beta this fic, feel free to contact me.

The first day of school was always nerve-wracking. Students were filled with self-doubt and insecurities typical of their age. They're uncertain about their abilities to handle the course load, their relationships, and any new obstacles that might come their way. The beginning of school was the first step into unknown possibilities.

Lash Sandvig returned to Sky High as a Super Senior (no pun intended), so his nerves were wracked a bit more so than usual. It wasn't a new school year per se since he'd been a senior before, but he was a new person. At least that's what the people at The Juvenile Hall for Gifted Youngsters thought. They graciously bestowed the privilege of parole upon him; their words, not his.

It technically wasn't the first day of school either, but it was his first time stepping foot onto Sky High in over a year. Despite the lack of students and teachers, Lash was still nervous to be back. Although he had attended Sky High for three years and a little bit of his final year, the school seemed foreign and strange to him. Nothing had looked different from what he remembered, but he knew _everything_ was different. Anything could have happened in a year and a half while he was gone. That was what unnerved him; he didn't know what had changed in a seemingly unchanged world.

He supposed he ought to be grateful that he only got a year and some change. His lawyer got him off as an accessory to villainy instead of a principal or abettor of villainy. Speed was not as fortunate since he was unable to afford such a good, or _pricey_, attorney.

"_Thanks_, dad." Lash thought angrily to himself. He found it hard to be grateful though his father paid for his lawyer. Jake Sandvig couldn't be bothered to even show up for the trial. So while Lash stood on trial, scared shitless, his father thought a company meeting was more important than being there for his son. Lash remembered the very cold and empty feeling that grew inside him every minute that passed in court. The prosecution threw every heavy handed word, normally attached to villains, at him. Lash could distinctly remember internally denying the accusations. He wasn't a villain, not really. It was more of a prank. A really stupid prank, but he wasn't _evil_. That's what he told his lawyer, almost breaking down, at their first meeting when the reality of the consequences of his actions became apparent. His lawyer didn't care though; like his father, the attorney was more interested in keeping him quiet. So that's what Lash did. He kept a stoic façade as the prosecution and defense battled it out in court. Lash came out the victor because of a "lousy" three year sentence. Slap on the wrist, they said, considering all the evidence against him. Due to good behavior that included taking classes and seeing a therapist for his "villainous compulsions", Lash got parole. He had also agreed to go back to Hero training; finish what he started.

So there he was, sitting alone, in Sky High's library. He didn't even have Penny and he _hated_ Penny. Female was a bitch times eight, or however many multiples of herself she decided to do that day. Speed liked her though, and it was what brought them to Gwen Grayson, AKA Sue Tenny AKA Royal Pain, in the first place.

Penny landed herself in the mental ward, along with Pain, as she refused to disavow her leader. Screaming about Villain superiority, how they'd get out, and take over the world in court did not go over well with the jury.

Lash scowled at the thought of Penny. He had adamantly wanted to put sole blame on her for getting him into the whole thing, but with all the counseling he knew it wasn't just her fault. His shrink, very big on personal responsibility, counseled him on owning up to his part in the plot. So any anger he had quickly dissipated, as he knew he was to blame for his own actions. He made a stupid mistake and he paid for it with a year and several months of his life. What made Lash the most nervous was the likely hood of the school population, teachers and students alike, would not see it that way; that they'd just see some ex-prisoner who didn't deserve to be there. _He_ wasn't sure if he deserved to be there, so he didn't doubt others would think the same.

Lash shook his head to get those types of thoughts out of his mind. There was no use in dwelling on the past or on an unknown future. He was there to finish his Hero degree because he promised his mother. He finished his G.E.D. while at JHGY but he wasn't able to get his H.D.

Shame grew tight in his chest as he thought about his mother. If he would be sorry about anything, it'd be how he hurt his mother with his actions. He didn't really care about his dad, that he could have ruined several lives, or that he wasted over a year of his life; what he was really sorry for was making his mom cry. She stood by him through his hearing and incarceration; visiting Youngsters every time it was allowed. All she ever wanted for him was to graduate with his H.D. and help save the world. When she found out he was doing villainous activities, she blamed herself and cried. He tried his best to convince her that it was his own fault and that he was just a stupid kid that got mixed with the wrong crowd. It killed him that his mother thought she failed him somehow when it was the other way around. So to console her, he did the only thing that came to mind. He promised to go back to super school and become a Hero. Seeing his mom smile was worth all the doubts he had.

He could care less about graduating Sky High, honestly. He didn't think he was cut out to be a Hero, even before the Royal Pain mess. The double life of a Hero didn't appeal to him. He had even considered dropping out and having his powers bound; go to a regular high school and live a normal life. But with the way his parents talked, that was never an option. His mother and father said that he was born with a gift, and it was his duty to use that gift to help the world. The pressure to become a Hero was another reason that drove him to dabble in villainy. The expectations to not only follow in his father's footsteps of running a Fortune 500 company, but to save the innocent in his spare time were overwhelming. Lash felt, between his mother and father, his life had been mapped out without any of his input. He saw his future as a suffocating blanket waiting to smother him as soon as he graduated and nothing he could do about it.

He realized that little tidbit while talking to his counselor at juvie. Like most teens, Lash was very reluctant to talk at all to the court appointed shrink. Dr. Lance Sweets barely looked older than Lash, but the guy had proven himself to be a great listener and confidant. Eventually Lash opened up to Sweets. Dr. Lance helped Lash through his daddy issues and anxiety about the future. Lash couldn't believe how helpful and freeing it was to have someone listen with no judgment or agenda.

Lash tried deep breathing techniques, learned from Sweets, to calm his nerves. This was a far cry from his first senior year experience. He had been confident to the point of cocky, but that was normal for a senior. Lash had a particularly nefarious reason to be so self-assured. A plan had been brewing for over a year was coming into fruition. Despite knowing it was wrong, he saw it as a way to break away from his planned path and do things his way. Joining Royal Pain seemed like an escape from the life that had been decided for him. Rebelling gave him a sense of control that neither Sky High nor his parents provided.

He couldn't help the sardonic snort that escaped him. The irony of his strategy to run away from a life of unyielding plans had led to one that consisted of nothing else. Juvenile hall had an undeviating daily schedule. So Lash lived a well designed hell that he knew would just repeat day after day.

Juvie was more boring than anything. There was a stringent agenda of where he was supposed to be, but not exactly what he was supposed to do. He got so bored he resorted to doing school work to pass the time. Talking with his shrink was the highlight of Lash's week and under Sweets's suggestion he took G.E.D. courses to ensure he had somethingto fall back onwhen he got out. There was no way of knowing if Sky High would let him back in and he didn't see the point in attending public school if he didn't have to. Lash felt secure knowing if he couldn't complete Hero training, at the very least he would be able to apply to college. Lash was very grateful for all of Dr. Sweets's help.

But the benevolent beings ruling Sky High decided Lash's tenure at JHGY was sufficient enough punishment, not to mention a glowing recommendation from Sweets, and should be allowed to return. Or they thought to further his punishment by "permitting" a nineteen-going-on-twenty year old senior to face the student body he tried to baby-ize with a super villain who _just_ couldn't let grudges go. He wasn't sure which was more accurate but, then again, he didn't care.

Either way, he was now in the Sky High Library staring blankly at a stark white wall awaiting a student council representative to give him a rundown of expectations.

This was another aspect of returning to SH he did not look forward to. He was required to attend meetings with the junior class student body president to keep him on course. He resented the administration hovering him, but he could understand their distrust. He knew he had to earn the right to be trusted.

Petulantly he checked his watch and noticed he still had five minutes till his meeting. The old Lash was not considered punctual in the least, but having to adhere to such a strict schedule for over a year forced the good habit on him. So now he was five to fifteen minutes early for everything, and that left plenty of time to grow anxious. He wondered if he could just go back to his old ways and be late for everything. It'd get him in trouble but at least it didn't give him time to stew in his own apprehension.

The library was practically bare except for the few students here and there. It seemed that not a lot has changed in the time Lash was gone. The sidekicks who wanted to lay low and smart kids, generally, were the only ones who used the library. The library wing of the school was fairly standard. Ugly blue carpet with mahogany shelves filled with non-descript books. A row of ancient computers lined the north wall buzzing under harsh fluorescent light and long empty mahogany tables gathered in the center. The only outstanding feature was the section devoted to mystical texts for the magically gifted students. Few were enrolled and their coursework was a lot heavier due to the rigorous nature of spell casting. Regular students weren't allowed into the segment without special permission, and it was hardly ever granted.

Still, that part of the library was drastically different than the rest. Sleek black marble replaced the ancient blue carpet. Each book inhabiting the matching ebony shelves were bound in leather and encased brittle weathered yellow pages. Even from across the room, Lash could feel the pulse of magic vibrating from the tomes. The curious part of him had always wanted to visit that part of the library. He and Speed had attempted a few breaches, but it was not meant to be. They could never get around the magical security protecting the volumes and neither could they successfully petition a teacher to write them permission. So the great mystery of the magic section remained so.

As Lash stared at the off limits area a student walked into his line of vision. He didn't recognize her, but he didn't think much of that. He'd been gone for over a year so there were bound to be people he didn't know despite the small student population. She could have been a transfer student or a freshman for all he knew.

She looked older than a freshman and reminded him a lot of Penny; same skin tone and similar facial features. The likeness ended there as the female was dressed rather modestly, simple jeans and a hoodie. Penny was the sole member of the SH cheerleading team, which Lash always thought was dumb as they didn't have an athletics department, so she was always sporting the skimpy uniform.

Lash caught the eye of the stranger and she acted as if she were a deer caught in headlights. For a brief moment they stared at each other. She then quickly looked away as if he was something to be afraid of and skittered off out of view.

"Whatever" Lash thought dismissively with a hint of bitterness. It seemed as if his reputation has preceded him. If the girl wants to be some stuck up stand-offish bitch then he wasn't going to fret over it. The girl just proved herself to be the first student to judge him for past mistakes. He was sure there would be others.

The patient voice of Dr. Sweets invaded his thoughts as he remembered the Dr.'s advice before leaving the institution.

"_You can't make people accept that you've changed Lash. You have to prove to them that you're a different person and it still might not be good enough. You just have to keep your head up and not let it get to you. I'm proud of ya kid, and I want you to do well this year_."

A short raven haired Hispanic female suddenly approached him and it immediately threw him out of his reverie.

He'd been sitting in the library for about fifteen minutes and this was the first person to come close to him. He stood a little straighter and was at a loss of what exactly to do. So he opted to sit there awkwardly in a stilted silence.

"Hello, you must be Lash. I'm Emma Turner, Junior Class President. I'm here to welcome you back to Sky High."


	2. Chapter 2

All recognizable Sky High characters, places, and events belong to Disney and its affiliates. I am making no money from this endeavor. As for any original content: Any likeness, similarities, and resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, and events are unintentional and purely coincidental.

If anyone wishes to volunteer to beta this fic, feel free to contact me.

Lash still had no clue as to what to do. Was he supposed to stand up and shake her hand? She was a junior class rep, not an actual elected official. All in all she was his glorified babysitter. He pretty much expected her to be like all the other student council members he's ever encountered: Overachievers who all but took their coffee intravenously; they were just _so_ eager to help and be good members of society.

The female didn't seem to care about his silent treatment and went on without a reply from him.

"Well, as you know you're here because the school board has deemed you fit to rejoin the general population…"

Lash started to tune her out because it was all he heard before. He's so tired of hearing how _fortunate _he was to be let back in. He fucked up, he got it! What was the point of doing juvie if he had to pay for his mistake for the rest of his life? Lash then slumped a bit and turned his head in a fit of petulance.

Emma noticed Lash's posture and she knew he wasn't listening to her. That frustrated her to no end, because she could be doing much more productive things than over looking some ungrateful hood. So she forcefully put down the binder she was holding and it made a loud bang.

The sound was enough to jostle Lash out of his stupor and he was surprised at the sudden action. He looked at the junior class president and her cordial smile was no longer there; in its place was a raised eyebrow and slight show of teeth.

Lash had the sudden feeling he was in trouble and that was not the way he wanted to start off his senior year…his second senior year. He smiled and shrunk his head into his shoulders as a gesture of submission. He knew he had to, at the very least, lay low and pissing off the student body was not part of that.

Emma saw that Lash was superficially apologetic and he had cute puppy dog eyes. She's a sucker for the eyes so she eased up her stare.

"Listen Lash, I don't want to be here as much as you don't. Believe it or not, I have better things to do than look after you. So I have a proposition." Her last sentence said in a quieter conspiratorial tone and she leaned in closer. "How 'bout you and I make this as painless as possible? After this initial visit, you promise me _now_ that you aren't going to try to take over the school, meet once a week as required by the state for like five mins, and then I'll sign off on all your papers. Deal?"

Lash was very surprised at the calculating plan Emma just came up with. Normally the student council was full of white hats, the exception being Royal Pain, which were sticklers for the rules. He was a bit skeptical at first because the last pact he made landed him in juvie but he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. She was offering him a reprieve from what he imagined would be painfully boring get-togethers. She didn't want to talk about his progress through the year and neither did he. All he wanted was to get through this and get his hero degree to make his mother happy.

With that, he shook his head in agreement.

Emma wondered for a moment if he was mute or just being a typical teenage boy. Either way she didn't really care because she wanted to get out of there and do her other, more important, council duties.

Such as make plans on how to gather supporters and keep her position of power for the next year. Emma believed it was never too early to plot the demise of one's competitor. But, said plans can't be planned if she had to take the time to check in on Lash. So hopefully he values his time as much as she values hers and takes the deal. The school had a guideline on how to deal with the recently paroled and while she wanted to appear helpful, she also didn't want to waste time if she didn't have to. She really wasn't licensed to talk to him in any real therapeutic capacity so she deduced that the school board just wanted to keep a close eye on him. Emma had ways to figuring out if he was up to no good, so she wasn't overly concerned with being caught slacking off.

"Alright, here's your class schedule, our meeting schedule, locker and lock combo…" Emma rattled off, "…and your instructions for the volunteer mentoring program for the influx of transfer students."

"Wait, what? Volunteer? When did I volunteer for anything?" Lash asked as he heard the obvious misnomer of the assignment. He did not want to get into any kind of club or project. His goal was to lay low, and getting into _things_ was the exact opposite of that.

"You 'volunteered' when you signed the Honor Code, Code of Conduct, and Exemplary Student Agreement. You really ought to read things before you sign your life away."

Lash knew she had a point as he didn't read any of the aforementioned documents. He was impatient to get things over with, with Principal Powers, so he signed whatever was in front of him to get him back into school. He vaguely remembered something from his sophomore year; about a new program that was supposed to get good recommendations from teachers and standing in the community. The Exemplary Student Program was basically a pool of students who wanted to do volunteer work to make their Hero Degrees shine more. Only the super white hats ever did the extra work and Lash never paid a lot of attention to them. His life compromised mostly of hanging with Speed, terrorizing sidekicks, and trying to avoid any responsibility. Now it seems like he'd unwittingly joined the ranks of the people had no interest in even socializing with. He supposed the school administration thought if he was too busy doing lapdog work for the student council, then he wouldn't have time to become a villain. He could see the logic in it but it did not mean he had to like it.

"I don't suppose there's a way I could get out of this?"

Emma has had enough of his whiney antics and threw up her hands and flicked them as if she was shaking off water.

Suddenly the entire library had frozen. Lash was in mid-whining head shake, the shy girl in the corner was unmoving as she put away a book, even the dust stood still in the air; all things had stopped in time while Emma collected her thoughts.

She was the junior class president, so it would never be acceptable for people to see her lose her cool. While the black girl in the corner was a friend and the senior was basically nobody, Emma was not one to ever let her guard down.

Emma calmed herself down by taking deep soothing breaths. In…and…out…

"OK, Emma. No need to freak out. You're hungry and when you're hungry you get grumpy. Being grumpy is unbecoming so you have to calm down. This guy's an idiot and you just have to let him know how things work." she told herself.

She took her hair out of the tight ponytail, to ease the oncoming headache. She shook her head and long pitch black hair tumbled out. She felt calm enough to unfreeze time and get on with this stupid meeting. She wished she didn't have to subtly come to power with campaigns and elections; a hostile takeover and direct aggression was a lot quicker not to mention less frustrating. It's unfortunate that this new school did not value such qualities as ambition and cunning. Sky High did not groom heroes in such a manner. Here, Emma was forced to use her political chops and sway the masses. Good thing she had tools at her ready to do as such.

With another flick of her hands, Emma unfroze time and calmly stated, "No, Lash. You can't get out of it…unless you want to drop out of Sky High altogether."

Emma slightly hoped he would, as it would be a lot easier on her if he did.

Lash had to blink a few times because he could have sworn her hair was in a ponytail when they were talking. Now it was obviously loose around her shoulders and Lash had no idea when she put her hair down. He shook off the confusion; he must have been paying less attention than he thought. He pushed the puzzling notion from his head because he had other things to worry about. Such as, he had to do volunteer work for the school.

"So, uh, what exactly am I supposed to do?"

"You are to take one of the new transfer students, show them around, and generally guide them in the ways of Sky High."

"What for? Why not let them find their way like the freshmen do?"

Emma tensed a bit at what she saw as too many questions and wondered why he was so dense. A thought occurred to her though.

"Are you not aware of what happened to Valhalla?"

"_Valhalla?_" It took a moment but the name was familiar to Lash. It was one of the other super schools in the U.S.; the other being the Academy of Heroes. A while back, Penny was in talks with the other school to have some sort of competition. Mostly she wanted the cheerleading "team" to be relevant.

By Lash's questioning tone, Emma assumed that he didn't know.

"Do you not watch the news?"

Lash grunted at the question and shook his head in the negative.

"_Jeez, another high and mighty white hat that thinks because they watch CNN it makes them the queen of all knowledge," _Lash thought irritated, at the female's tone. "I've been a little busy trying to get out of prison."

Emma snorted at his attempt at a snide comment. "Prison? Don't give yourself so much credit, you're not that badass."

Lash was tempted to get up and get in her face but he remembered all the sessions with Dr. Sweets. Anger doesn't get anyone anywhere, so the grown up thing to do is just let it go. And that is what Lash did. He let it go because it wasn't worth it. He was sure if he kept saying it to himself, it'd be true.

Emma grinned a little at her slight victory over the elastic boy. 

"Anyway, Valhalla has been compromised and all students had to vacate. So they either went to AoH or here while they build a new school somewhere else. Lucky me, I chose to go **here**."

Lash was a bit surprised at the revelation, but he supposed that was the reason why he didn't recognize her as she was a junior. While he wasn't here for the last year and wouldn't know any freshmen from that year, he did know most of the juniors because they were freshmen when he was a senior...the first time. Sky High was a small school; the entire student body could fit into their gym. Lash should know as he trapped them all there for Royal Pain's insidious plan.

"Wow, compromised eh? That sucks."

It wasn't the most brilliant thing ever, but at least Lash was trying to be part of the conversation now.

"Indeed. So now all the Val kids that chose to go here have to adapt because the rules are very….different."

The way Emma said "different" made Lash think she was trying to be civil and didn't actually like the new school.

Something then occurred to Lash, "If you're from a different school and new, how are you the junior class rep? Don't they usually pick those at the end of the school year?"

The question caught Emma off guard and had to take a moment before answering.

"Yes, it turns out that the previously elected rep had to drop out for…personal reasons, so I was able to step in. I don't really know what happened myself."

Lash got that feeling again that she wasn't being quite honest, but what did he know about school politics?

"Anyway," she quickly changed the subject "here is the paper saying that I met with you and did all the required steps, and that you agree to abide by all the requirements stated henceforth for all meetings."

Emma brandished a piece of paper with a grid; boxes for their names, times and date of their future meetings. Oh fun.

"I don't have a pen, do you have one?"

Lash didn't think anything of it and he immediately went to his pocket and grabbed one of the pens he always carried around.

He signed his box and handed her his pen. She grabbed it with a tissue and signed off. Lash felt a little insulted by this, what did she think was going to happen if she touched something of his? Was she some kind of germ freak?

"Thanks Lash, our next meeting doesn't have to be 'till school actually starts, so it'll be a while. I've got your info and I'll email you the directions for the first day of school."

"I've been to school before; I think I know how to show up."

"No, smartass. Directions for your Val kid and how to show them around."

"Oh, right. Whatever."

With that, Emma rolled her eyes and exited the library. She gave a wave to the black girl he had seen before and wondered if she too was a transfer from Valhalla. The girl in question turned and made eye contact with him again, and once again she didn't even bother with a greeting. Lash could only hope that she wasn't one of the students he was paired up with.

Lash gathered his things to go home, hoping the Sky High Bus was still there and that Ron Wilson, Bus Driver, wouldn't hold any grudges. Lash did not think he could deal with a confrontation with the adult and his acquired power. As he got up to leave, he noticed that Emma had taken his pen.

"Damn, that was my favorite one."


	3. Chapter 3

All recognizable Sky High characters, places, and events belong to Disney and its affiliates. I am making no money from this endeavor. As for any original content: Any likeness, similarities, and resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, and events are unintentional and purely coincidental.

If anyone wishes to volunteer to beta this fic, feel free to contact me.

Emma took her leave of the library as her job there was done. It was half-assed but then again, Lash wasn't something that was a priority of hers anyway. She waved hello to Lyndsey, a fellow former Valhalla student of hers. They were friends, but didn't get to see much of each other due to the move. With their busy schedules, it didn't make it easy to see each other outside of school. They saw each other when they could. Emma hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should stop and chat. She checked her watch and decided not to since she had another friend waiting outside.

Emma strode through the barren halls and out into the bright sunshine.

The school was deserted as class didn't start for another few weeks. The only people there were those who wanted to get things ready for the upcoming year. That included student class reps like Emma, and helpers like Lyndsey.

There was one other student there, that didn't fit into either category. Emma spotted her on the steps to the school relaxing. She was leaned back on the granite steps and looked as if she didn't have a care in the world. The girl was dressed casually in jeans, teal chucks, and a screened tee; it had some kind of nonsensical saying that only teenagers would wear. Probably inappropriate for school, Emma mused to herself. If she knew her best friend, and she did, then it was probably sexually implicit.

As she got closer, she got a better view of the black baby-doll tee. Emma was proven right as "Let's Play Carpenter. First we get hammered, then I nail you" was plastered across her friend's chest in big teal letters.

"You know this is a school right?" Emma asked her friend sarcastically.

"You know it hasn't started right?" her friend answered right back.

They both laughed at their sardonic humor. It was the type of thing that only best friends could do. Be brutally honest and candid but still have the tightest bond.

"Oh, Olivia. What are we going to do with you?"

"Is there any reason you made me come to school, of all places, when class hasn't even started yet?" Olivia asked, ignoring her friend's rhetorical question.

"Yeah, I need a favor."

"Of course you do. My powers are full of the awesomeness. Who am I reading today?"

"This super senior who just got out of juvie"

"oooo sounds juicy. But what's in it for me?"

Emma sat down next to her friend and Olivia scooted closer. While Olivia would never do anything for free, not even for her best friend, she did free-lance her powers at a disgusting discount for her. Emma knew it wouldn't take much, as Olivia was a notoriously curious person. It was in her DNA to want to know things, so she could be talked into doing favors quite easily.

"How 'bout I give you free range of the school to get a 'feel' for the place?"

They both grinned at the play on words Emma used, and Olivia couldn't resist getting an advantage over other students. So she held out her hand for an object that she knew Emma would have.

As expected, Emma dug into her purse and pulled out a handkerchief. She carefully unfolded the linen as to not touch what was inside. In it was a simple pen and to an outsider they'd be very confused as to why Emma was handling it with such concern.

Olivia knew the protocol; she reached out with one hand and picked up the ordinary pen. Her normally deep brown eyes glowed unearthly amber as her powers took hold. She slowly twirled the writing tool and had a concentrated look on her face; as if she was watching and listening to something that wasn't there.

"Heh, he called you out on your bid for junior class rep." she said at last with a small laugh.

This made Emma frown because that was not what she wanted to know.

"I know what happened at our meeting, I want to know if I have anything to be worried about with him."

Olivia gave her friend a frown, silently saying "Hey, I'm the one doing you a favor here."

"Sorry, you know how I get when I'm hungry." Emma apologized. As soon as the words left her mouth, Olivia held out a granola bar. She was very used to Emma's hunger fits and was always prepared.

Emma took the cereal bar gratefully and ravenously tore into it.

Olivia resumed her reading on the pen and finally got to what Emma wanted.

"Naw, I think you're good. He's only here to make mommy happy. He's more nervous about facing everybody than trying to take over the school again."

Olivia's eyes went back to their natural dark brown hue and she pocketed the pen. Olivia was a pen hoarder so she always walked away with the writing implements, much to Emma's chagrin.

Emma had a concentrated look on her face as she took the information in. Olivia was best at what she did, so Emma wasn't concerned about the integrity of the information; just how to use it to the best of her advantage. This was something she'd have to ponder later, as she promised her friend a "tour" of the school.

They both gathered their things and headed into the building.

Olivia noticed that Sky High was very different from Valhalla. For one thing, there is an insane amount of windows. It let in a lot of natural light and Olivia could dig the feel. SH also seemed to have this love affair with light blue. From the tile to the lockers, everything was a shade of light to medium azure.

"_I supposed they want to keep in with the theme of __**Sky **__High, so they want everything to blend. Kinda lame_" Olivia thought to herself.

Both of the girls explored the school and it didn't take them that long to go through the building. It was only one structure with three floors: a bottom basement level, main level that housed the majority of lockers and other shared quarters such as the library and gym, and then the top level. Olivia had noticed there was definitely a socially accepted and systematic type of segregation to the school. It seemed that the bottom floor was full of anxiety and low self-esteem. The angst was almost palpable and she barely had to reach out her powers to get a reading on the basement level. Olivia assumed that was where Sides were taught. The main level was more of heterogeneous mix that she usually found in a crowded place. The only place where she felt the high levels of anxiety and terror was the gym. But that's typical of most high schools. The top floor though, that was an interesting story. There was some anxiety, but it was mostly filled with confidents and an over sense of self-worth. Olivia knew that was where the alphas of the school resided, so she had to make sure she got herself there. With her academic record, she was sure she'd easily make Hero.

The rows of lockers called to Olivia. She just couldn't resist the impulse to cause trouble. She was in luck as Emma, who would have surely tried to stop her, was busy talking to a teacher. Olivia knew she'd have a bit before Emma noticed her as the time-stopper had her fake campaign smile on. That meant she was kissing ass to appease the new administration. Olivia felt a little bad for her friend just then. At their old school, fake appearances weren't necessary as the faculty condoned aggressive ambition. At Sky High, it seemed they were stuck in some lame G movie where the worst someone could do to you was say they didn't like your outfit. This was made very clear in the initial orientation a month ago. All the Val kids that decided to go to Sky High had to attend a "Welcome to Sky High, now here're the rules" meeting with their parents. Most of the faulty were very cordial and their optimism rolled off them in waves. They just couldn't wait for school to start and shape the minds of the heroes of tomorrow. Sky High faculty seemed to think Val kids were under the illusion that hero life was glamorous and fun. Valhalla kids were taught differently and knew better. Lucky for Val kids, such adults were easy to manipulate as they were prone to believe the best in kids. So Olivia had no doubt that her and her cohorts would take over the place in no time…socially that is. Emma's quick move into power, with a little help from Olivia, was proof of that.

So while her friend was distracted, Olivia set into motion what she was sure to be hilarious shenanigans.

She came to a random locker and held the simple combination dial padlock. She quickly got the combo from the device and reset by turning three times left, then did the combination in one full turn right and then immediately left again. Click. Easy as that, she held in her hand the grand security of the lockers at Sky High. She did this several times at random lockers and replacing one with the lock of the previous locker. She grinned at the thought of the confused students who just couldn't figure out why their combos weren't working.

While she was in mid-spin on her seventh locker, she felt a presence coming towards her. She looked up to see a tall lanky kid with a mop of brown hair. He had a puzzled look on his face, as if he was asking "What the hell are you doing?"

She raised her eyebrow and defiantly looked back as if to retort "What's it to ya?"

They both stood there in silence as if they were caught in some kind of Mexican standoff. Olivia knew she had to keep her cool, as technically she was the one doing something wrong. Then she recognized who he was and relaxed. She finished what she was doing and walked up to the tall male.

Olivia had her confident smirk in place, casually leaned against the lockers, crossed her arms, and casually asked "'Sup?"

Lash looked surprised at the ease at which the unknown female approached him. He figured she was one of the transfer students Emma talked to him about. He had to bend his neck down to look her in the eye as she was short. Like not almost a midget short, but short for a female. He didn't see the harm in conversing with her and she seemed friendly enough. Seemed a bit mischievous too, if he caught her doing what he thought she was doing.

"Sup" was his reply with the non-committal head nod to top it off.

There was a bit of a pause as neither really knew what to say. It wasn't an after-school special, so it wasn't like they could start off with "Would you like to be my friend?"

An evil idea crept into Olivia's head and she couldn't resist asking "So what brings you here?"

She knew why he was here, she just wanted to mess with him and see if he'd tell her the truth.

To Lash, it was an innocent question and he didn't know the slightly mean intent behind it; he debated with himself if he should even tell the truth. To make things simpler for himself, he decided to be honest. She'd find out eventually anyway and he wasn't feeling creative to make up something on the spot.

"I, uhh, had a meeting with a student body rep to discuss the terms of my reinstatement to the school." Lash said, mostly quoting the notice he got in the mail to attend the meeting.

Olivia raised an eyebrow but never lost her smirk. Honestly, she didn't expect him to tell the truth but was impressed that he did. She thought she ought to give him the same courtesy.

"Yeah, you're that Lash kid right? I've heard things about you." Ok not the entire truth but at least enough to let him know that she knew about him.

Lash figured as much. "Yeah? Like what?"

"Oh this and that…Teamed up with a villain this…tried to take over the school that. Something about time at Youngsters. And that you have to 'volunteer' to help us Val kids adjust. Tough break, guy."

Lash frowned a little, since the girl shouldn't have known that. The incident with Pain and his stint at juvie he could understand. That was all over the hero news, but his work with Val kids should have only been known between him, the school, and Turner. He figured the word would get out, but not this soon. What kind of student class rep was Emma if she was going to telling their business to everyone?

"So what? The student council runs a gossip mill now?" Lash said a bit heatedly.

Olivia realized her mistake; she knew privileged information and let it slip that she knew. Automatically she went into damage control mode.

"No nothing like that. It's just really…difficult to keep things from me." she said vaguely.

Lash wasn't buying it and he was getting upset that his high school life was already getting treaded on; and it hadn't even started yet! He moved to leave but was stopped by the small brunette as she stepped in front of him blocking him.

"Hey, come on now. No need to get your panties in a twist."

"I do **not **wear panties."

He stepped aside to try and leave again, but this time the girl placed her hand to his chest and looked him dead in the eye. He was confused as to why she kept stopping him and was startled to see her eyes glow a tawny yellow.

"Yeah I know, you wear Calvin Klein medium black boxer briefs…in silk. Nice."

Lash was a bit freaked that she knew that, not to mention the weird eyes but it dawned on him how she knew that. And why she said it was hard keeping things from her.

"You're psychic."

"Something like that."

Her eyes turned back to their natural shade of dark brown but she kept her hand where it was on his person. He was unsure of what to do; he's never met a psychic before. Lash was getting more and more of an uncertain feeling about this girl. She knew everything about his record and probably a lot more than he was comfortable with since, e.g. his underwear preference.

"Oh not to fret, I know how to keep my trap shut and I don't really care about who you were" She took back her hand and smiled coquettishly at him. "I'll be seeing you around."

And with that, she left him dumbfounded. Seeing her retreating back, he did have to smile to himself a bit. This was going to be an interesting year and it felt good that at least one person didn't judge him for his past.


	4. Chapter 4

All recognizable Sky High characters, places, and events belong to Disney and its affiliates. I am making no money from this endeavor. As for any original content: Any likeness, similarities, and resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, and events are unintentional and purely coincidental.

If anyone wishes to volunteer to beta this fic, feel free to contact me.

Olivia couldn't help the stupid grin she donned as she walked away from Lash. Ex-Villain or not, the male was really cute.

"Lash Sandvig…" the name seemed familiar, but Olivia couldn't place it. She shrugged her shoulders and dismissed the mystery for now. She'd find out eventually, she always did.

She wondered the halls looking for where Emma went. The junior class president seemed to have wondered off somewhere. Olivia reached out her powers to see if she could get a feel for the time bender and felt the faint but familiar profile of her best friend. Olivia followed her sixth sense to the library. Even though Olivia technically wasn't supposed to be there, as she was not part of the student council or any type of student aide, she brazenly walked into the library without thought. She spotted her friend right away but not before noticing a familiar sight. Apparently all super schools had a mystical section decked out in black marble and ebony selves; interesting tidbit to save for later. Olivia briefly wondered if Sky High had the same security system for students, personae non gratae, to the mystical section of the library.

Her eyes went back to her friend and they rolled when she saw who Emma was talking to.

"_Ugh, Lyndsey_." Olivia thought with mild disdain. She walked towards the pair and a little bit of pride welled in her chest as she saw the black girl looked a bit shell shocked.

Lyndsey was not prepared for Olivia to be at school. She knew she'd have to confront the clairvoyant eventually, but she was determined to avoid the other girl at all costs. So she quickly excused herself from Emma and scampered off.

There was really nothing that Olivia could say about what just occurred as she approached her friend. Emma had a bit of a guilty look on her face and Olivia already knew what she was thinking. She wasn't a mind reader, she didn't have to be. They'd been over this before and Olivia had no desire to drudge up old issues when she didn't see the point.

Emma's eyes followed where her friend had scurried off to till she disappeared.

Olivia's mood took a bit of a downturn because she knew that Emma was sad about what happened. They all used to be friends but there was big blow out between Olivia and Lyndsey. Olivia would insist it wasn't a blow since there was no yelling involved. It mostly consisted of Olivia holding up a mirror to Lyndsey's selfish and immature behavior then Lyndsey ending the friendship instead owning up to her actions. There was a definite sense of bitterness on Olivia's part, mostly because she knew she was right but ended up looking like the bad guy because Lyndsey cried like a little girl. It was neither here nor there, so Olivia chose to avoid bringing up the elephant in the room and act as if nothing happened.

"So juvie kid, major Cutie McCuterson."

Emma quickly went from guilty to slightly incredulous. Only Olivia would think of boys in the midst of BFF drama. Then again, Lyndsey was no longer considered a BFF so Emma supposed Olivia's behavior was not all that surprising. The two had managed to avoid each the entire summer. Well Lyndsey avoided, Olivia did whatever she damned well pleased. Olivia figured if Lyndsey was too scared to face her, then that was the black girl's problem. She would never let the possibility of an awkward situation stop her from doing what she wanted. This led to a lot of miss opportunities for Lyndsey as she refused to be in the same place as the psychic if she could help it. That meant a lot of social events, such as a Lady Gaga concert and several parties, Lyndsey shied away from to steer clear of Olivia. In turn, it was always brought to Olivia's attention and she resented the implication that it was her fault. Olivia could not control what Lyndsey did and it was not as if she purposefully drove the other girl away. It just made Emma sad because she felt caught in the middle of her friends. It also cut down a lot of hang out time with Lyndsey. Emma didn't blame Olivia since the psychic never purposefully excluded her ex-friend. Lyndsey's exile was of her own choosing and Emma could not get her to budge on it.

Emma decided to let the issue go as it was not worth bringing up. Olivia never insisted she stay away from Lyndsey and the clairvoyant didn't seem to care if they remained friends. Emma really appreciated that Olivia never gave her an ultimatum or tried to cause trouble; she only wished Lyndsey would get over it as Olivia had done. She missed her friend but Lyndsey's immaturity about the fight, which was almost a year ago, was starting to wear on her patience.

"He is one of the more attractive males I've seen here so far" Emma replied diplomatically.

Olivia knew that was code for, "Yes, he is cute but below my standards." That pleased the psychic since it meant she didn't have any friendly competition.

"Well, if say you would put us two together for the Val kid-Sky High mentor thingy, I'd be greatly appreciative"

Emma was a bit miffed at the request as she had already made the roster of who was to be paired up with whom. She worked really hard on it, taking into account complimentary powers and the least amount of personality conflicts. Emma slightly wondered if Olivia already knew who she was pair up with and that's why she was asking to be matched with Lash. This was a new school and Olivia was a notorious prankster. This was not Valhalla where Olivia could get away with her shenanigans because her parents were major contributors to the booster club. Along with being her best friend, Olivia was a vital part of her political life. She had the dirt on everyone and everything; she also wasn't above using her powers for her own gain. Luckily, Olivia's plans matched Emma's and the two couldn't be stopped. Sky High, however, has yet to show its leanings. She didn't want to lose her best friend because the school couldn't take a joke. Emma hoped that pairing her friend with a super white hat, a Layla Williams, would reign in Olivia's devious tendencies. Super white hats usually fell into two categories: Genuine or completely fake. The fakes would entertain Olivia as she would try to bring them down for their hypocrisy. Genuinely good people boggled the psychometric as she couldn't see the merit in doing a good deed for the sake of doing it. Despite her confusion, Olivia could never bring herself to plot against the legitimately good natured. Their auras were comforting and she thought it akin to kicking a puppy. So Emma was sure the girl who was part of the most charitable clubs, and one of the few to actually volunteer for the program, would be the one to be able to deal with Olivia. Her friend did not take too kindly to being manipulated and would probably get her back somehow. Never anything malicious but Olivia has been the source of a political headache or two.

Emma was in luck as Olivia seemed oblivious to her plot. Emma was not quick to respond to the request and Olivia didn't have the patience to not call people out on their b.s. So Emma strategically acted put out, which technically she was, and was about to tell Olivia all the reasons why the list should stay as-is but the psychic beat her to it.

"Annd I'll say we're even for getting you the deets on that acid spitting kid." Olivia drew out knowing her friend needed a little more coaxing in order to get her way.

That shut Emma up quickly and made her think. It was never a good thing to be indebted to Olivia, mostly because she was so eccentric in what she considered compensation for her work. Normally she charged money for easy jobs but the more involved situations usually led to an exchange of favors. Favors tended to range from the benign "give me a ride somewhere" to possibly criminal "Hey, if anyone asks I was with you last night" alibi. Emma owed her friend a particularly large favor as Olivia was the reason she was able to get the presidency. There was talk of sharing the position but it was not in Emma's nature to share power. As a paradigm Type A, control was to be hers and hers alone. The hippie b.s. "let's share" approach was not part of Emma's plan and she was grateful for her friend's help in usurping the throne. Fortunately, Douglas Jones (AKA the acid spitting kid) was not the model student. Honestly, they did the school a service by "convincing him to resign" his post as junior class rep. It seemed the kids at Sky High did not value true leaders, but chose elected officials based on if they threw a ragin' party. While Emma herself was known to throw a party or five throughout the year to gain a constituency and popular vote: she was at least competent and knew enough to keep her nose clean. Jones, on the other hand, had a bit of a bad habit that if known, would get him expelled. So the acid-spitter was astute enough to realize the position was not worth getting kicked out of school.

Emma quickly considered the pros and cons of the situation. While Lash was an ex-convict, he was determined to get through his final year quickly and painlessly. He was on parole, so any violations of the agreed terms of said parole would send him right back to Youngsters. That probably would make him very cautious and unwilling to take part in Olivia's high jinks. She'd get bored with him quickly and either ask for her original Sky High mentor or blow the whole thing off. Either way, Emma was sure that Olivia would be in capable and more importantly boring hands.

With her mind made up, Emma took her roster sheet out and quickly made the revision.

Olivia smiled in triumph as she got her way.

The girls did a little small talk about the upcoming school year and both had high hopes for their tenure at Sky High. It wasn't Valhalla but they'd make due. Emma saw the school was in much need of good leadership and was confident she was to be that leader. Olivia was excited at the prospect of fresh victims who were not aware of her mischievous streak. She was sure she could get away with a lot before anyone, that wasn't a Val kid, began to suspect her.

Emma looked around for Lyndsey to say goodbye but the female was nowhere in sight. Emma sighed and knew she wouldn't come out as long as Olivia was there. The time bender brushed it off, thinking she'd see her friend some other time.

The two friends walked out of the school and into the harsh light of day. It was only midday so they decided to go to Olivia's house to do some battle plans for the first day of school. This mostly consisted of deciding what to wear. It was harder than it sounded because Valhalla required a uniform while Sky High only had a dress code. So after years of knowing what you had to wear and suddenly free to wear what one pleases; this was an adjustment that Emma and Olivia had to make the best of. At Sky High, they would be judged on who and what they wore; they wanted to make a great first impression, so a strategy was in order.

The two girls made their way to a cherry red Camero. It stood out in the small empty parking lot because very few students were able to drive a flight enabled vehicle. Either they had the ability to fly or took the bus.

Emma had to pause a minute while Olivia ridiculously hugged her car. She did a quick look around to make sure no one saw her friend's embarrassing display of affection. Emma thought it was a pretty BAMF car and wished she had one, but would not stoop to giving it hugs and praise. Emma hoped Olivia would hurry up because petting the car and dusting off imaginary dirt while saying "Did you miss mommy?" in a baby voice was getting to be a bit much. Thankfully Olivia was over her fit. The two girls got into the car and drove off.

In the distance where the bus terminals were, Lash saw the whole episode and did not know what to make of the pair. It was obvious Emma was embarrassed by…Lash cocked his head slightly trying to think of the other girl's name. He realized the strange girl he met in the hallway never said her name. He quickly went over what he did know about her: she's cute, psychic, has an awesome car that she's weirdly fond of, mischievous, and seems very chill about his stint at Youngsters. Overall it seemed like it would be a bad idea to get involved with the chick. From what little he knew about her, she was trouble. Not hardcore trouble like villainy, but enough to possibly endanger his track to getting his Hero Degree. Girls were a distraction anyway and one he didn't need at the moment.

Oddly disappointed but resolved on his decision, he was going to keep his head low and push through this year unnoticed.

Too bad the girl in question and other students were not about to let him do either.


	5. Chapter 5

All recognizable Sky High characters, places, and events belong to Disney and its affiliates. I am making no money from this endeavor. As for any original content: Any likeness, similarities, and resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, and events are unintentional and purely coincidental.

If anyone wishes to volunteer to beta this fic, feel free to contact me.

Excitement pulsed through Layla Williams as she disembarked the bus. She almost skipped to the stairs of the school building, thrilled to see all the friends she didn't get to really see over the summer. She genially said hello to all her fellow classmates, above and below her grade. Layla was very hopeful and optimistic about her upcoming junior year. She was now an upper-class person, never upper-classman as it was sexist, and felt on top of the world. She was sure this year would be just as great as last year. Her boyfriend, Will Stronghold, and her have been going strong for two years. She felt they'd go on forever. She was also one year closer to getting her degree and couldn't wait to start helping and saving all that she could.

She all but squealed with happiness as she saw Magenta Vitz, her best female friend, ran up to the goth girl and gave her a huge hug. While they saw each other yesterday, it felt like forever. School had started and Layla couldn't wait till they could talk about the new classes, teachers, and new students! Layla had convinced the group to take on a transfer student to show them around. Well, all but Warren. Despite him being her boyfriend's best friend, no one could convince the pyro to help out his fellow student. He thought he was too cool for such things, but Layla knew he just wasn't comfortable in big social settings or with new people. Underneath Warren's tough exterior, he was filled with nougat-y softness with minimal blazing hot pieces of hostility. So she let him get away with not participating.

Layla thought it was very important to let the new comers feel welcomed and make their transition as smooth as possible. She knew what it was like to start as a newbie at Sky High, so she wanted them to have a better experience than she did on her first day. Sure there was still the Nazi like segregation of Heroes and Sidekicks, but she was determined to not let the new students, transfers and freshmen alike, feel as if they were inadequate just because their powers were not deemed sufficient enough to make Hero. Much to her chagrin, the administration caught wind of her powers after the incident with Royal Pain and forced her into Hero class. She was happy to have more classes with Will but sad that she was no longer with Maj, Zach, or Ethan. It also violated her principals because she believed that such a systematic separation of the students was wrong. She still refused to participate in Save the Citizen as she felt the arbitrary use of her powers was an abuse of them. Still, the teachers saw her as a Hero just because of her powers and she thought it hypocrisy. That is why Layla headed the group of Heroes Against Omitting Sidekicks. She was trying to get the administration to stop encouraging such a dichotomist social order. She thought their rag tag group of super teens had proven in their freshperson year that one doesn't necessarily need a certain type of power to be a Hero. But it seems as if teachers and students alike were resolute in keeping the status quo. As disappointed as she was that the only turnout consisted of her close circle of friends, she was sure that someone from the new school would want to join H.A.O.S. She was certain that Valhalla had produced upstanding Heroes that wanted the world to be a better place for those with and without subjectively powerful abilities.

She would learn better soon enough.

As she happily chatted with her friends, she compulsively watched for the buses for the new batch of students. She felt bad that the mentoring program didn't include freshmen but the faculty thought the incoming transfers were more in need of guidance. Besides, there were hardly enough volunteers for the transfers anyway.

Speak of the Devil…Layla heard the distinct sounds of screaming terror descend from above; a new batch of freshmen just arrived and were not used to the commute yet. Layla smiled a bit, remembering how terrified she was on her first Sky High flight to school. The bus first going off the unfinished bridge, not knowing the bus could fly. Her short life flashing before her eyes as the bus plummeted to the ground. Her own screams blending in with the kids around her, heart seemingly stopped completely. Her nails digging into the cheap leatherette upholstery and never loosening her grip till the bus safely landed. It was the single most thrilling thing that'd happened to her…until Will kissed her at homecoming.

They'll learn to love it in time too. They, just like her and her friends, would come to think of the commute as a roller coaster ride.

The familiar scene of scared 14-15 yr olds gathering at the foot of the steps brought a small smile to Layla's face. They were all that young and scared once. The current senior class president, who they're all 95% sure was not a villain, welcomed the new bunch of freshmen with the usual spiel and led them inside for orientation and power placement.

Layla looked at her watch, seeing that it was time to gather all the volunteers to welcome the transfers. The bus for the Valhalla transfers, or Val kids, wasn't due for another twenty minutes; the school wanted to stagger the orientations and power placements so it wouldn't be overwhelming.

Layla and co. were due to meet with their junior class president, Emmanuella "Emma" Turner. She didn't see the Latina girl yet but decided to be proactive and help by gathering those she saw where already there.

Will, Maj, Zach, and Ethan were nice enough to volunteer to show the new students around. Will could never say no to Layla and the others didn't have much else to do. It got them out of first period, which was Medulla, so they were happy to help.

A warm embrace came from behind her and the familiar scent of sky and thunderstorm invaded her nose. She snuggled into Will's embrace and took comfort in the arms of her boyfriend. Since he could fly, he no longer took the bus. He preferred to sleep in as much as he could and put off going to school until he absolutely had to. Layla didn't blame him would sometimes "catch a ride" with Will when she was running late. Otherwise she took the bus with her fellow non-flyers.

Will was all smiles and small kisses as they waited for their student rep. Will fist bumped his best male friend, Warren Peace, as the firestarter approached the group and high fived his other male friends; he never broke his contact with Layla.

One thing Layla loved about her boyfriend was that he wasn't the type to shy away from public displays of affection. He was a hand holder and a hugger; he wasn't afraid to show how much he cared for her. She knew she was very lucky to have him.

They were an odd group of friends, sidekicks and heroes mixing. None of them thought themselves that way though. They had each proven to have heroic qualities, damn what the school said. They were a tight group, even Warren. On the outside, he had a gruff exterior. A slightly scary one with all the black he was prone to wear, but Layla knew Warren had a great heart. People just had to get to know him better. He was a great listener, just not an avid talker. People mistook his taciturn ways as not caring; such as Nicole "Freeze Girl" Malgirini, Warren's on-again off-again, currently on, girlfriend. It was a constant point of arguments between the two. Nicole had her own set of friends, so she wasn't with Warren at the moment.

Layla noticed that Warren was wearing his slightly put off stoic face. It may seem silly that Layla and Will could tell the different type of "stoic face" Warren had but it was true. One doesn't be friends with someone for two years and not learn such things about them. So currently Warren was sporting a "frowny" stoic face that meant he probably wasn't currently on good terms with Nicole. Their relationship ran hot and cold, terrible pun she knows, and wasn't sure if they were good for each other. School had just started and the pair was in a tiff. Layla hated conflict and unhappy endings but sometimes ending things were for the better. At least that's what Dear Abbey says.

She shook the thoughts from her mind because Warren wasn't going to be forthcoming with his love life unless he was ready to talk about it. Which might be never and Layla knows better than to ask and nag him about it. One almost burnt down Paper Lantern was enough to learn her lesson. The Chinese restaurant Warren bussed tables was one of the few places that served vegetarian meals so she wasn't going to risk it burning down. Although he kept this distant somewhat aloof façade, Warren had a bit of a temper to him when he didn't want to do something. He truly was a hothead but he was their hothead.

While Layla conversed with Maj over the latter's new outfit, bought just for the first day of school, Layla felt Will tense up. The whole group stopped their friendly banter. Even Zach was still and the hyper kid was _never _still. Layla looked to their line of sight to see what caught their attention and made them so rigid. She quickly saw what silenced the group.

Lash Sandvig.

The tall stretcher walked slowly away from the senior buses, his steady stride not breaking despite half the student body gaping at him. For his part, he was ignoring the obvious distasteful stares and not trying to get in anyone's face. Layla noticed that he seemed very different from when she was a freshperson. He had been so confident and carefree. When she first saw him on her first day of school, he had a lighthearted grin and a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Now it seemed he had a huge weight on his shoulders and wanted to hide from the world.

The others did not have such a compassionate viewpoint.

Will tightened his grip on his girlfriend but not too tight. He didn't want to hurt her, he wanted to protect her. He only ever handled Layla with the utmost care, knowing how easily he could break her. Will remembered too well the cruelty of Lash and he wasn't about to let the stretcher hurt him or anyone he cared about again. He knew he failed his freshmen year to protect those around him, and he hated how he acted back then. A sharp feeling of shame stabbed him in the heart. He was a total ass back then and he knew it. He was determined to make it up to them now by not letting Lash anywhere near those he loved.

Zach remembered Lash too. Couldn't help but think of all the lockers he'd be put into by the dick. How Lash and Speed would laugh as he stood in the small cramped confines of the cabinet, unable to get out. All during his confinement he wished he could do something about it. How he could let himself out of the locker and stand up for himself. Stop the bullies from so easily taking advantage of him and stop the laughing. He always appreciated Will coming to his rescue when his friend got his powers but slightly hated that he couldn't do it himself. While he thought his power was awesome and useful at times, a part of him wished that it was something that would get assholes like Lash and Speed off his back. He knew it'd definitely get his dad off his back.

The one who detested Lash the most was Ethan. Out of all the sidekicks, he was the one picked on mainly. The one most humiliated by Lash and Speed's malice. The others didn't know the mortification of getting a swirly. How easily Lash and Speed overpowered him to dunk his head into the disgusting toilettes of the boy's bathroom at Sky High. Ethan was ashamed of how easily he kowtowed to his aggressors, even thanking them once they were done and gave him his backpack. That's what he hated the most, that he was so weak he had to suck up to them to appease their hostility. That wasn't the worst of it though. It wasn't just the shame of not being able to defend himself or the overwhelming sense of helplessness, it was the guilt of lying to his mother about why he brought an extra pair of clothes to school. He used to tell her it was because they got dirty from Save the Citizen or a student's out of control power. Khadija Daniels thought her son pragmatic while really he didn't want to wear wet clothes dirtied from being dunked into a toilette. She thought him happy and well adjusted when some mornings he didn't want to go to school and face the constant torment. How could he tell his mother he was so miserable? Even his friends didn't know the extent of how awful it was. He couldn't stand the thought of his mom knowing, how upset she'd be. The only thing that got him through the days were his friends. It hurt Ethan the most when Will ditched them to be with the ones who tormented them. Layla was jealous because Will's attention was on Gwen, but Ethan? He felt betrayed. Will knew what Lash and Speed were doing to him, yet Will made friends with them as if they weren't total douche bags. As if they weren't daily torturing his friends. Will thought Lash and Speed honored their bet when he won STC with Warren, but it all kept going. Will couldn't have known since he wasn't with them all the time. Even less when he started hanging out with Gwen's group. Ethan had long ago forgiven Will even though the super strong teen had never apologized specifically for choosing the would-be villains over his real friends. The ones he'd known since elementary school. He chose popularity over years of friendship. It stung and hurt but Will eventually came to his senses. Just in time to help save the school from the evil popular kids. Ethan never felt more satisfied to give Lash a taste of his own medicine. Show him how it felt to have his head in a revolting toilette. Ethan felt even more contentment when Lash, Speed, Penny, and Gwen were sentenced. With them gone, he could enjoy not just the rest of his freshman year but school career.

At least that's what he thought. He was proven wrong because Lash was now on school grounds and walking freely about. Blood rushing from his head, making him slightly dizzy; the memory of being afraid and humiliated too clearly coming back. Anxiety of history repeating itself. Will and Warren couldn't be by his side all the time, so Lash could easily get him again. There was a new feeling though, that came along with the fear.

A dark rage started to grow and it was aimed at the stretcher.

Lash had noticed them right away. The guilt he felt for his treatment of the sidekicks were fresh on his mind. His own experience at Youngsters made it clear how bullying could hurt. He knew he should do something to atone for his past behavior but he had no idea where to start. Saying he was sorry didn't seem enough. He worried that they think him insincere and trite. From the looks they were giving him, he was sure they were not willing to hear an apology if he was willing to give one anyway. He couldn't stand their stares any longer and looked down. Feeling defeated, he walked towards the opposite end of the stairs and sat down while he waited for Emma to show up. The directions said to meet at the foot of the stairs but not necessarily which end. So he did what he said he'd do this year. Keep his head down and out of trouble.

Layla could cut the tension with a knife. While her boyfriend, Ethan, and Zach had daggers in their eyes; Layla looked around awkwardly because she didn't know what else to do. It was in her to give people second chances, Will could testify to that, but it did not seem like her group was willing to be as sympathetic. Maj looked just as awkward because while neither Lash nor Speed ever actually did anything to her, she remembered the disdainful looks they cast her way because she was a sidekick; especially that multiplying Penny bitch and Royal Pain in my ass Gwen. Both of them always had this haughty air about them as they walked by the sidekick's lunch table, as if hero support didn't belong at the school. Maj didn't know how two people could be so pretty yet so ugly inside. It wasn't just her powers they looked down on either. It was the way she dressed. So she liked black and purple, she thought she looked cool. But the not so subtle insults of "goth freak" and "emo dyke" casually whispered when she was within hearing range of the two stung after a while. She never told Layla because she knew her hippy friend would talk about equal rights and the use of such hateful terms to the principal. Layla, in her naïveté, thought she could change the world with rousing speeches and appealing to people's better nature. She didn't realize that some people didn't have a better nature. The principal was overworked and at the end of the day she was too worn out to care. As long as the students didn't kill each other, Principal Powers thought it was a successful day. So Maj kept quiet and it all eventually blew over when Royal Pain and crew went to jail. At least for a while; the douche bag vacuum that was created in Lash and Speed's absence was quickly filled. It seemed like the school just had to have bully dickheads and prissy bitches; so Dustin "Carbon Copy" Ingram and Bennet "Benny" Varnon filled that void respectively. While Dustin was too afraid to make outright attacks on Zach or Ethan due to Will and Warren, he wasn't hesitant to mercilessly beat them in Save the Citizen. Or verbally abuse them when Will or Warren weren't around. Benny wasn't that much better either. While she was too prissy to participate in gym class unless she was forced to, she never turned down the chance to mock Maj or even Layla for petty things like what they were wearing or that Layla didn't deserve a Hero like Will. Layla always held her head up high and was confident in her and Will's love, so she never let Benny's words get to her. Maj pretended that they didn't for the sake of Layla and to keep conflict to a minimum. Maj liked the indifferent reputation she garnered over the years and she was determined to keep it. She wasn't about to let some daddy's girl get to her…at least not publicly.

Warren was his usual indifferent self. If he hated Lash he didn't show it and the group assumed he didn't like anyone outside their group of friends. So Warren would protect the sidekicks from Lash when he could but would leave the kid alone as long as Lash stayed out of his way.

The friend's thoughts were interrupted when a distinct rumbling filled the air. It wasn't the usual hum of the flying buses but the purring of a car. The whole school stood enchanted as they saw a bright red sports car fly above the quad and go into the nearby student parking. This was quite the sight to behold as very few students could drive flying cars. They were insanely expensive and the classes to get a flying license took months to complete.

"_Has to be a transfer student_" Layla thought excitedly as she knew the only other students that were old enough to drive flight enable cars were already on campus. If someone recently got their flying license they would have bragged about attending lessons a lot sooner and it'd be all over Facebook. She'd soon meet one of the new students and welcome them with wide open arms.

"Holy Wonder Woman's lasso, that's the new 2010 Camaro." Will said with awe and all thoughts of Lash disappeared.

The importance of the type of car was lost on Layla so she looked to their resident muscle car aficionado.

Warren's eyes were a little bit wider than normal and his jaw oh so slightly ajar. That was his greatly impressed pokerface, so Layla knew it was quite the car indeed. She didn't get the big deal. The color was pretty and she guessed it looked cool. The black racing stripes on the hood were kind of neat. The bulk of it though suggested that its carbon footprint was probably bigger than she would like. She kept her mouth closed because she did not want to get into any kind of lecture about cars from any of the boys.

Both Will and Warren moved slightly towards the red automobile while trying to seem cool and not make a total run towards it. Zach and Ethan were a little more subdued due to their shyness but it was obvious they were just as eager. Layla smiled because it seemed that the boys were itching to make friends with the owner of that car.

Zach vocalized her assumptions.

"Oh man, we have got to meet that guy. That ride is sweet! S-W-E-T-E."

"Yes, that is a most impressive vehicle. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing but has many fine features such as what sounds like a GM LS3 V8 engine." Ethan chimed in.

"No, it's got to be the new GM L99. It's a 2010 model; Chevy hasn't come out with the manual transmission yet." Warren replied.

Layla and Maj looked at each other for a moment before they rolled their eyes. Boys and their toys…

Since neither female knew what the hell the boys were talking about they decided to have their own conversations.

"I hope the guy is cute, his car is pretty bitchin'."

Layla giggled at her friend's declaration because the boys immediately stopped talking shop and rolled their eyes as well.

Oh the differences between male and female priorities.

Imagine to all their great surprise when the driver's side door opened to reveal a stiletto heeled, mid calf, studded black strap, buckle, pointy toed boot touch the ground.

The driver was a girl! Even Warren had a slight bewildered look on his face. No one was expecting that. Layla felt a bit of female satisfaction that some stereotypes were laid to rest.

After a few moments the car was emptied of its three occupants; two short females and a tall lanky kid that looked like he was a freshman.

Layla recognized one of the females as Emma. The junior class president was dressed smartly in preppy dark blue sweater vest over a pearl white ¾ sleeve shirt with matching short blue and white plaid skirt that flirted with the required length for the school dress code. Her outfit was finished off with white knee highs and pitch black mary-jane high heels.

The other female, the driver of the car, was dressed much differently. If Emma was preppy chic, then the other girl was a rockstar. Not pre-teen wannabe "Hannah Montana" rockstar but actual on stage doing metal growls kind of rockstar. It was more of her presence than what she was wearing. She donned dark blue denim skinny jeans that stemmed up from the boots. A chunky black studded belt hung loosely on her hips, definitely more for style than practicality. She wore a simple bright teal tank top that popped against all the dark colors. Black and silver accessories completed her look.

Both girls had matching sunglasses on that gave them an air of subtle mystery.

The male was dressed much more casually. Loose fitting levi's and a black hoodie with red designs. A backpack casually slung on one shoulder he looked like he did not want to be at school. Layla could see Emma talking to the male but it seemed it was a futile effort as he had visible headphones on that made Layla think he couldn't hear anything but his music. It did seem the male heard her as he bent down to hug her and then rushed into the school. So he was a freshman and was running late.

Both girls strode to school confident without missing a beat. Everyone took a moment to stare at the newcomers. Not only were they dressed to impress but came from an awesome car. If they wanted to make a great first impression, they succeeded. They seemed as if nothing could bother them, they were too cool and above such things.

If only they saw them ten minutes earlier…

"Oh my gawd guys, I'm running late!" the irritated teen groaned.

"Hey don't bitch at me, your sister's the one that took forever to do her hair." Olivia said trying to deflect blame.

"Hey! If someone hadn't kept me up all night picking a completely new outfit to wear, I would have straightened it last night." Emma said not about to take Olivia's crap.

"Sorry! I just suddenly hated what I chose to wear last minute. It gave me muffin top!"

"Yeah I like this outfit a lot better. Those boots are bangin'" Emma admitted.

"Ye-yah! And you look like a hot Latina Peach Girl"

"What? That wasn't the look I was going for! I want to look smart and capable."

"You look uber hot, which is way better than smart."

Emma rolled her eyes at her friend and started to do a mini-freak out. She didn't want to look like an anime character, no matter how hot they looked. She wanted to be a leader to the people! How were her peers supposed to respect and take her seriously if she looked like a cartoon character?

Olivia saw where Emma's thoughts were going and wasn't about to let her friend lose her cool.

"Ems, you need to pack it in. This is our first day of school and we need to act like we own the damn place! Game face!"

"Jeeze you guys are weird."

"Shut up Carl! I will eject your ass out of this flying car."

The 14 yr old teen just looked out the window and ignored his sister's best friend. She always threatened to eject him out of the car. She was like another big sister so he wasn't actually worried about being expelled. He should have just taken the bus because he knew that Emma was going to run late. She always runs late. Even if she had done her hair the night before (he totally didn't understand why it took so long for her to do her hair. It's hair. Brush it and be done with it) she would have found some other way to be late. For a time manipulator she wasn't very good at being punctual.

He put on his headphones to drown out the two best friend's inane chatter about their plan to take over the Sky High social scene. He just wanted to be with the rest of his Valhalla friends and out of the estrogen polluted car.

Olivia fiddled around the dashboard of the car. At the moment instead of a radio/cd player interface it was an LCD screen with the coordinates to Sky High. The building was always in motion so the school gave her constant updates to where it was. Olivia was beyond excited because she knew she'd be one of the only students who not only had their own car but a flying car; so no taking the bus for her, Emma, and Carl. Unless Carl thought arriving in style wasn't worth their constant chatter or Olivia's daredevil flying style.

And when they hit a patch of turbulence, Carl thought the bus looked better and better after his heart started back up. The bus drivers had to be more experienced and stable in their flying.

Sky High was finally in view and Carl had to admit he was impressed. It wasn't nearly as big as Valhalla but the fact it was a flying school was pretty awesome.

If anything could be said about Olivia, it's that she's a great strategist. She purposefully flew over the most crowded portion of the school, the outside steps, to get as much exposure as possible. She did the landing protocol, which to Carl looked like she was pushing random buttons and flipping arbitrary switches, and managed to land them cleanly.

Before Emma had a chance to open the door Olivia stopped her.

"Wait! We need one last thing to add to our coolness factor."

Emma had no idea what her friend was talking about and was started to get impatient. Carl was already running late and she had to meet up with the volunteers.

Olivia then brandished a pair of brand new Oakleys.

"Ugh Olivia, just because Emma said sunglasses where cool doesn't mean they'll add an 'air of mystery' to us" Emma said referring to Emma Pillsbury of Glee.

"OK 1. just because it was on Glee doesn't make it not true and 2. they totally will work. Trust me. There's a study about how people are more intimidated when they can't see your eyes."

Emma was very suspect about the validity of Olivia's supposed study, but knew she should always trust Olivia when it comes to manipulating people; so she gave in and put the eyewear on.

Carl was relieved that the girls were _finally_ ready to get out of the car. They slowly exited the vehicle, to add dramatic effect, and walked towards the school.

They could feel the eyes of the student body stare at them and Olivia basked in the attention. They looked awesome and she totally knew it. It was a great way to start the school year.

Olivia could covertly check everyone out without being obvious thanks to the dark sunglasses. The students of Sky High were definitely checking them out and sizing them up. It's easy to look collected and cool when their eyes were covered. She knew they'd measure up and blow them all away. She flipped her long, layered pin straight hair for good measure. Sometimes the movies got it right.

Emma had to hand it to Olivia; her friend totally knew what she was doing. She still wasn't sure about her outfit now because of Olivia's anime comment but at least others couldn't tell. Olivia once said that it didn't matter if she was truly confident or not, it only matters if others believe she's confident. It's another version of "fake it till you make it" and it's true. She breathed slowly and did her best to look as self-assured as she could. She told herself "Peach Girl is a rather obscure manga, so it's very possible no one has any idea what it is."

Emma started to tell her little brother, ironic since he was several inches taller than her, not to get in trouble etc..etc…but it was obvious he wasn't paying that much attention. She finally gave up and demanded a hug before he rushed off. He wasn't going to ignore that request so he quickly hugged her and ran to meet with the other freshmen. He was glad he didn't have to go through the lameness of peer council like the others did. Since he technically never went to Valhalla he, and all the other would be Val freshmen, went in with the Sky High freshmen. They were all starting fresh unlike the sophomores and up. There were only like five Val freshmen starting at Sky High but at least it was some people he knew. He got to the gym doors and knew that he'd have to go through something called power placement. This was way different than what he knew Valhalla did things but knew it was only going to be for a year if it really sucked.

He took a deep breath and started the uncertain adventure known as high school.


	6. Chapter 6

All recognizable Sky High characters, places, and events belong to Disney and its affiliates. I am making no money from this endeavor. As for any original content: Any likeness, similarities, and resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, and events are unintentional and purely coincidental.

If anyone wishes to volunteer to beta this fic, feel free to contact me.

The two friends walked towards the stairs, the official meeting place of all the mentors before the bus of transfers arrived.

Warren noticed the two females heading in their direction and he wasn't up for being social. He quickly bounced from his group of friends before Layla had a chance for a last ditch effort to roping him into volunteering, telling them he'd meet up with them later. Warren then ventured to see where his girlfriend, at least he was sure they were still together, went off to.

Layla had opened her mouth to plead with Warren to help out with the transfers but the words died in her throat seeing his retreating back. He knew her well enough to know she would try to get him out of his shell and socialize him a bit more. She should have known he'd see it coming and leave in enough time to make his getaway.

"_One day Warren Peace, one day_" she would always have hope for him. She decided to keep upbeat and happy. She couldn't win them all and she didn't want to be a Debbie Downer for the new students.

She excitedly walked towards their junior class president with Will and the others in tow.

Olivia could have felt the pulsating warm presence from a mile away. The shining aura just oozed positive thinking and goodness. She looked to see where it was coming from. Slightly right, off from the foot of the school steps was a group of teens. It wasn't the whole volunteer group but Olivia could tell they were the type to be helpful and upbeat. This was a genial group of people. There was a dark spot in it that didn't seem to match its peers.

"_Guess someone's having a bad day_"

She was able to pinpoint that most of the optimism and cheer was coming from one person; a jovial looking redhead who was all but bouncing towards them. Olivia reached out her powers to get a better reading on the female. The girl was all sunshine and peaceful green meadows.

"_Must be the white hat concentrate Ems was trying to set me up with_."

Of course Olivia knew Emma's game, she was psychic after all. She knew it was best to let her best friend think some things eluded her. It was best that everyone thought some things eluded her. It not only gave her an advantage in combat but it also allowed people to feel more comfortable around her. For the most part she didn't care to know their deep dark secrets and kept her powers to herself when possible but sometimes people projected. Occasionally it's like trying to not listen in on a loud private conversation on the metro. One might not want to hear but things got through regardless.

There was also a familiar face from the distance that turned and walked away from the group.

"Since when did Baden grow out his hair and adopt a badass in black and red style?"

"I don't know" Emma said just as confused as her friend. The two were also confused as to why the male was walking away. "Where's he going? He knows he's supposed to meet everyone at the foot of the steps, not inside."

Emma was getting a little frustrated because already people were not following orders.

"He's probably following some chit in a short skirt. You know how distracted he gets."

Emma's confident stride wavered a bit. She knew exactly how distracted by girls he got.

Olivia realized her careless remark as she felt Emma's mood dip.

"Sorry"

Emma shrugged it off. It was a stupid crush and she didn't want to deal with it right now. Baden would have to wait, her duties came first.

The two made it to their stairs and greeted the group. It was the usual semi-awkward greetings when people met and only two of them knew each other. Emma and Layla didn't really know each other that well but both were determined to make things go smoothly.

Olivia was particularly glad she wore sunglasses because she was sure her eyes were going amber every time she shook the sky high student's hands. She probably seemed rude or strange, especially since Emma opted to move hers from her eyes to the crown of her head but better seem rude than freak them out the first day. Emma smiled her million dollar politician smile and the sky high students were enthralled.

They were friendly enough but none of them would have survived at Valhalla. She got a quick reading of them from their all and overall typical American High School fair.

Will Stronghold, golden boy extraordinaire; loved his girlfriend, his country, and wanted to follow in his famewhore father's footsteps. The Commander was known throughout the Hero world, even on the East coast. While the superhero mainly fought in the West coast, he's been known to travel all over fighting bad guys with the help of his equally famewhoring wife. Olivia and Emma already knew about the Stronghold family, particularly Olivia since there was an unspoken disdain for them in her family. Olivia pushed down her general contempt for his parents (particularly Will's paternal grandfather, a right bastard) because she could feel Will's genuine nature. He didn't mean any harm and Olivia wasn't sure if he adopted his family's bigoted stance against some of the minority super population. Time would tell as he would eventually find out she was psychic. Emma also prepped Olivia on maintaining control during the initial meet and greet. The time bender knew there was some animosity from her friend for the Stronghold family but it would not be prudent to make enemies, particularly from the most beloved super family in town, on the first day of school. It's much better to get a lay of the land and get to know Will before they made any moves.

The ones called Zach, Magenta "Maj", and Ethan were just as cordial. She could tell the little purple goth princess wasn't into the whole "let's be friends thing" and mainly volunteered to get out of class. Olivia could respect the cunning of the girl's motives. The bright one wanted to be where the dark one was. Admiration and infatuation were coming off the luminescent kid in waves. Olivia thought it was cute how much he liked her; too bad Maj didn't feel the same way. She was more or less indifferent towards Zach. He liked her too much to see the obvious signs. They weren't together and after two years of vying for her attention he really ought to have given up. Olivia felt a little bad for the guy. The little black one though, that was an interesting story. He was the one giving off the dark vibes she felt earlier and wondered what his deal was. The contact was too short to get any real info off him but he was feeling particularly vengeful at the moment. He was one to keep an eye out for that was for sure. While they were not the Machiavellian type, Olivia could see being friends with the group. This was a tight group who were loyal to another and that counted too. At least she didn't have to worry about their motives, which was kind of a nice notion. She didn't expect much because she knew the fickle minds of teenagers. She was inundated with it on a daily basis and didn't have much faith in most people to do the right thing, or even the common sense thing. She was very much _aware_ of the true nature of people, not just the mask they put on to the public. Will Stronghold would show his true colors soon enough.

Still, nothing was setting off any alarms so it was a good first meeting. Emma was done giving her pep talk and wanted to gather the whole group together. Layla wholeheartedly agreed and Olivia was pretty amazed at the auburn headed girl exuberance. Chit just loved life and everything in it. Layla's fervor for all things great and small was getting a bit overwhelming for the psychic. She wondered if she could stray from the herd a bit. Olivia saw that they were moving towards the bus terminals and saw her chance to escape.

"Hey, I'll go get Baden and meet you over there" Olivia told Emma without waiting for the reply. She knew her friend wouldn't argue as the time bender wasn't so bold as to do it herself. Olivia didn't see the big deal about Baden, as the male was more or less just a pretty face. He was about as deep as a kiddie pool so Olivia assumed all Emma wanted was a trophy boyfriend; someone to look good next to her while she took control of the political power at Sky High. Olivia knew that wasn't true as she's felt the authentic feelings the time bender had for the male.

As the clairvoyant combed the halls for said male, she wondered when Emma would make her move towards Baden. Ems had to act quickly because Baden was popular with the ladies. He was sure to have a fan club by the end of the day, particularly since he seemed to have adopted an edgier style of dress. Dark and broody was always a fan favorite.

Olivia finally spotted the tall dark haired male talking to a blonde. She could only see the back of him but the towheaded female was in clear view. Olivia didn't recognize her so she wasn't from Valhalla so that meant she was a Sky High student.

"_Jeez the guy works fast."_

Olivia grinned a bit as she was about to do her friend a solid and interrupt Baden's game. As Olivia got close to the pair she was a little surprised at how serious Baden's aura had gotten. The male she knew only ever had girls on his mind and he was rarely ever serious about them.

"_Did something happen over the summer_?" She was certain she would have heard something though. Then again a lot of things were going on this summer with the move and all; Baden was not exactly on her radar so something might have slipped by. Still, she couldn't help but antagonize the guy in friendship solidarity. From the way the blonde was scowling, it didn't seem as if Baden was doing all that great anyway.

The two seemed to be having a tense conversation. Tense enough that they both got frustrated and walked off angrily in opposite directions. Olivia got a literal chill as the blonde walked past her. She wondered if she imagined seeing her breath for a brief moment. Olivia ignored her as Baden sometimes had that effect on women.

"Baden." She called out as she got within ear shot. The male kept walking and she wondered if he didn't hear her. "**Baden**" she said a bit louder.

He still wasn't turning back at her call. "_Where the hell is he going? He knows he needs to be with the rest of us. Bloody daft airhead."_

Olivia smiled a bit because she wouldn't be surprised if he was trolling for some skirt despite his earlier failure and was in his own little world.

"Baden!" she finally yelled and he still wasn't responding.

"Loser, why are you ignoring me?" she said in a quieter, joking manner and then gave him a friendly shove to get his attention.

As soon as she made contact she knew she was mistaken. Visions of fire filled her eyes and a sensation of heat engulfed her body. This male was way too powerful and unless Baden picked up a power over the summer, he was also a pyro.

As the non-Baden turned around she could see him up close that it was definitely not who she thought it was. This guy was _much _better looking than Baden. He was Baden 2.0 with all desirable upgrades and accessories. The male had an intense scowl upon his face but still remained very handsome, beautiful even.

"And you are not Baden" Olivia stated the obvious and a little disoriented from the onslaught from the male's essence. His presence was sound and steady. It made Olivia take notice because she could tell he was not a typical teenager.

"_Interesting…very interesting_"

Warren was taken by surprised at the sudden push from behind. Normally everyone gave him a wide berth to avoid him. He preferred it that way. They didn't want to mess with him and he didn't want to bother with those who would judge him before they got to really know him. His father's reputation preceded him and has ever since he could remember. He especially appreciated the unfound fear he created in people today because he was not in the greatest of moods. His girlfriend, Nicole "Freezegirl", was on his ass again about going out. He didn't understand what the big deal was. He didn't want to hang out at the mall for hours on end with her vapid evil bitch friends. The mall itself was boring and full loquacious teeny boppers that gave him a headache. He'd much rather just hang out, read, or just be in her presence but that wasn't good enough. Nothing ever seemed good enough for Nicole. Their arguments were becoming more and more frequent and he didn't know what to do about it. Neither wanted to compromise and the relationship was starting to become more trouble than it was worth. But he didn't want to break up with her because, despite the fights, he loved her.

He had heard a female voice call out to a "Baden" several times at increasingly louder decibels but he didn't pay any mind to it since it was obvious she couldn't be calling to him. Then when she called him a loser and pushed him, actually dared to touch him, he could no longer ignore the female. He turned around, hardest glare he could muster and fisted his hands; readying his powers in case he had to incinerate someone. He felt like cremating someone at the moment, first day of school be dammed. He was taken aback to come face to face with the short girl with the awesome car. The female he initially tried to avoid. He suddenly felt a slight pressure in his mind, as if a light breeze rolled over him. He knew that sensation; the girl was a psychic and was trying to get a read on him. He immediately fortified his mind against any type of invasion. He did not appreciate the uninvited foray into his psyche so he put on a full scowl, the one he knew would intimidate the short female.

Olivia only tilted her head in curiosity and then smiled. It was not the reaction her was aiming for.

"My bad, guy. No harm meant."

She held up her palms in a mockingly submissive manner. From her smile he could tell she meant no such appeasement.

This just caused Warren to be even more annoyed. He did not feel like dealing with the new transfer student who didn't know enough to be scared of him. He was in a piss poor mood already and new girl was not making things better. His scowl deepened and did not look like he was about to forgive the newcomer for her mistake in identity.

Olivia did not appreciate the open hostility for an honest mistake. It wasn't even as if she pushed him that hard.

"_OK_ _tough guy, you want to play 'scary look?' I'll give you a scary look_."

Olivia took off her sunglasses and let her powers out full force. Her eyes blazed golden yellow and Warren felt as if she was looking into his soul. The powers of psychics varied from person to person and he started to wonder what exactly she could do. He remembered an old saying his father used to tell him when he was little; before Barren Battle was incarcerated.

"Never dabble in the affairs of psychics, son. For they are subtle and quick to melt your brain"

Warren didn't learn till later that the saying was a bastardization of a quote from J.R.R. Tolkien but he has heard it was true nonetheless. Psychics were a volatile group of supers that were shrouded in mystery. It was one of the reasons his father trained him in mind shields early on. He understood the fear now, it felt like she was trespassing into his very soul and it was an unnerving feeling. His mother continued to have him tutored in the ways to protect his mind after his father left. He was never more grateful for the lessons even though they always managed to leave him with a splitting headache. This female was staring him down and he was feeling very exposed at the moment. Even though he knew his mind was safe, why did it feel she saw through him anyway? What was she doing at the moment? Was she trying to read his mind?

She wasn't reading his mind so much as reading _him_. Olivia was taking advantage of the fact that mind reading and clairvoyancy were two completely different things. Warren might be good at putting shields up to block her from his mind but his eyes told her everything she wanted to know. Eyes were the window to the soul. This was not just a trite saying. Unblinking, she took in all that Warren was saying without words.

"_I don't want to hang out with your gossipy friends, they never have anything meaningful to say. And they always rag on my friends. They're fucking bitches._"

"_Don't call my friends bitches! They're my friends and you should want to hang out with me more. You never want to do anything fun. Always want to lounge around reading some stupid book. We get it Warren, you're an intellectual who likes to read school books for fun. Sorry we don't all want to disassemble the deep troubled soul of Holden Caufield. And for the record, if your friends weren't a bunch of lame sidekicks, no one would make fun of them_"

Feelings of frustration radiated off of both of them, neither could see the side of the other. He was sad that things weren't working out. And that sadness was expressed with scowls and anti-social behavior. Olivia softened a bit because the guy was just having a bad day and fighting with his girlfriend.

Both supers were still playing the staring game and Olivia was never one to lose.

She moved towards the pyro, never breaking eye contact. Warren fisted his hands and a created a small discrete flame. If the psychic wanted to start something, then he was going to be prepared. She blew a soft puff of air into Warren's eyes effectively causing him to blink first.

"_What the hell_?" Warren thought to himself as his eyes tear up from the sudden dryness caused by her breath. The psychic was laughing at him again, gone was the aggressive stare down and back on were the glasses. She smiled at him big, as if he never looked meanly at her.

"I'll be seeing you around guy." was all she said as she strode away. He was confused now more than ever.

"_What the hell just happened?"_

Warren shook off the encounter and continued onto home room. He wanted to finish Catcher in the Rye before class officially started.

With as much dignity and carefree attitude Olivia rushed outside to where all the volunteers were meeting. She more or less made herself look like an idiot with possibly the most gorgeous guy on she ever met. She kept her cool because as long as she looked like she didn't care, people would believe she didn't care. Most could not tell the difference between genuine disinterest and faking to cover up embarrassment. Luckily, Olivia had trained herself to look and act the part of not caring what other people thought. For the most part it was true but looking like an idiot in front of a hot guy would make anyone feel insecure.

As she made her way down the school's front stairs she got a text from Carl.

**pwr plcmnt is bullshit!**

Olivia rolled her eyes. Carl was so dramatic sometimes." _He's only been at school for less than an hour and he's already bitchin' about something._"

**Wat r u tlkng about?**

**Pwr plcmnt. They just assign hero or sk based on pwrs.**

The last text made Olivia stop and stare at her phone skeptically. He must have been mistaken because there was no way in hell they could be labeling based on powers alone. That's such a short sighted and obtuse way to do things. And why were they doing it at the beginning of school? How could they just give the coveted title of Hero away without students proving themselves worth? She needed to talk to Emma about this.

Olivia had to hold in her hysterical laughter as she passed very confused students as to why their lockers weren't unlocking. The administrative faculty seemed equally stumped as they held the ledgers containing the list of students, locker assignments, and combinations. They had no idea this was just a taste of the shenanigans Olivia had in store for the school. Boredom was not something Olivia tolerated so she liked to keep everyone on their toes.

She casually walked up to the group of Sky High kids, not at all nervous about being in a crowd of people she didn't know. She'd know them eventually and she thought worrying about what someone she didn't care about thought of her was a waste of time. It was hard to be insecure when she knew everyone was insecure.

"So that guy wasn't Baden, btdubs, but he was the hottest guy on the planet." Olivia told Emma casually as she stealthily got beside her best friend.

Emma was used to Olivia's ninja like grace and wasn't startled. She was also checking off names and lists; not a lot got through when Emma was in administrative mode.

"Oh really? That's strange, I thought it was Baden too. Although I guess it makes sense because how would he have gotten here before the others?"

She more or less ignored Olivia's comment on the hot guy. Olivia had strange taste in guys and they rarely ever coincided with hers.

"Yeah now that I think about it, it couldn't have been Bade as I'm the only one from Val who has a flying car. Wish I thought of that before I made a complete jackass of myself in front of Hottie McHothot."

"Oh gawd, what did you do?"

"Nothing too bad but I kind of called him a loser and pushed him."

Emma burst out laughing because she could totally see Olivia doing that; added in that it was to a complete stranger made it classic.

"Stop laughing at me!" Olivia exclaimed while laughing herself. "But seriously though, hottest guy on the planet."

"Really?"

"Yeah, totally splooge worthy."

Now Emma's interest was piqued, when guys went into "splooge worthy" territory that meant they were insanely good looking.

"What's he on the scale?"

"Flash flood warning."

"Wow, show me next time he's around."

"Issue: He has a girlfriend."

"Ugh. Bleck."

"I know right? Story of my fuckin' life. Meet a guy you'd immediately drop your panties for and have hot wild monkey sex with no commitment and he's got an effing gf. Whatever, I'll just roofie him and he won't know the difference."

Emma laughed as she was used to the type of insane chatter Olivia blathered on about but Layla, Will, Zach, Ethan, and Magenta were not. They couldn't help but stared wide eyed at the girl who all but said she was going to rape someone.

Olivia finally noticed she was in polite company and assured them she was not about to commit any felonies…at least not for sexual misconduct.

"Oh I wouldn't actually roofie anyone."

The group seemed rather relieved.

As Will drank from his bottled water Olivia added, "I'd just ask if they wanted a three-way."

At the casual remark Will spit out his drink in surprise. This was not something he thought a female would ever say. He said he was sorry to the poor victims of Olivia's candid comment and then couldn't stop thinking about sex. He looked to his beautiful girlfriend and to the new mysterious girl. Both were very good looking in their own way; Layla the classic girl next door and Olivia the mysterious exotic new girl. The thought of a three-way invaded his mind.

"_Layla and Olivia in a three-way. Layla and Olivia kissing. Layla and Olivia in a three-way. Layla and Olivia kissing. Layla and Olivia in a three-way. Layla and Olivia kissing. Layla and Olivia in a three-way. Layla and Olivia kissing. Layla and Olivia in a three-way. Layla and Olivia kissing." _The thought and images buzzed through his mind at breakneck speed as he tried to control his breathing and arousal. Will was a red blooded American teenager so his reaction was not unexpected. He looked to his male best friends and they seemed to be in a similar state. A pinprick of jealousy arose in Will as he did not want anyone to think of his sweet innocent and delicate girlfriend like that.

Layla was not as innocent as Will thought. While she was not thinking of Olivia in a sexual manner she did sneak at peak at Will and thought of their intimate history. It was not as filled as she would like. She felt an ache of longing to be with Will but there were certain issues keeping them from going to the next level.

Layla shook her head of those thoughts as it was neither the time nor the place to be thinking such things.

"_Well Olivia certainly is a bold one_." Layla quietly admired to herself. The brash young woman would be cause quite the stir at Sky High. Layla wondered if Olivia had any activist leanings as HAOS could always use a brave vocal orator.

Meanwhile the boys around her were having issues controlling their hormones.

"_Ohh emmm geee dude! Olivia and Maj would be super fantastic. Man Maj is so beautiful. I love her in dark clothe; makes her so scary cute_."

"_Wow a female is talking about sex. Sex! How titillating!_"

Maj did not seem fazed at all. She looked rather bored as she usually did.

There was a bit of an awkward silence as the group took in what Olivia said. The psychic just smiled because she lived for making awkward moments like this. Their slight embarrassment amused her.

"So…ummm who did you meet?" Layla asked cautiously, trying to engage in the conversation politely.

"Don't know, didn't catch his name. But he's a tall dark handsome rogue with a dark secret that haunts him from his past. His muscular arms are deceptive of the tender heart that beats within. His brooding eyes look at you intensely as they melt your heart…among other things" Olivia said with a coquettish wink and then went on. "and tell of the tortured soul that aches to be loved. But he has walls around his cold heart that are just waiting for the right woman to break through."

They all just stared at Olivia blankly. They all collectively thought "_What the hell_?"

"Olivia, describe him like a normal person not a bodice ripper."

"Fine, ruin my fun. He's tall, super hot dark features maybe Italian, long hair with red streaks. Pissed off scowl glued to his face and major daddy issues."

"Warren" they all simultaneously said.

"Warren, eh?" Olivia looked deep in thought for a moment. "Yeah he looks like a Warren."

The Sky High students were very perplexed at the turn of events. This newcomer had not only laid her hands on the residential hot head but lived to tell the tale. Well…it wasn't that dramatic. Will knew his best friend would never actually kill anyone but Warren was known for his short fuse for most people. Will was mostly surprise the girl didn't seem scared at all. While Will was super strong and could easily take a hit, Warren was a lot stronger than he looked. And the pyro looked pretty effing strong. Olivia didn't look she could stand up to a strong wind. Neither Emma or Olivia were imposing figures, they were more along the line of Maj's size; short and petite. Gender and size generally did not register with Warren. They were all equal victims of his death glare and warning fire flashes. Layla even got a taste of it when she unwisely called him "cutie" freshmen year in a ruse to make Will jealous.

Will wondered how she knew Warren had daddy issues if she didn't know who Warren was. If she knew he was Warren Peace, ergo Barron Battle's son, then that was one thing. How did she know about Warren's problems with his father without knowing Warren?

The group's amazement was short lived as Olivia stated.

"Speaking of daddy issues, there's Lash. I'm going to say 'hi'"

She was mostly speaking to Emma and as she was about to wander off she quickly looked up with a tilted head. As if she just head something that caught her attention.

"The bus will be here very shortly, have fun."

Will looked to where she was looking a bit confused. All he saw was clear blue sky and didn't hear the normal roar of the bus.

She walked away from the group towards the current social pariah. The group wasn't aware that Olivia would even know Lash.

The friend's emotions ran the gamut from Layla's concern for the new girl getting entangled with someone with Lash's reputation to Ethan being appalled.

The bus suddenly appeared from behind the school's horizon and Will was stunned that Olivia knew it was coming. A certain uneasiness settled into Will as a suspicion came to mind. A distrust of unknowable knowledge that had been pounded into him since birth flared to life and he didn't like it. The new girl was not afraid of and knew things about Warren without knowing him, cavorting with the likes of Lash, and seemed to know things others didn't.

Subconsciously Will snaked his arms around his girlfriend in a protective embrace. She could not sense his apprehension as she was too worried about Olivia falling into the wrong crowd. She had a much more optimistic expectation of people, he did not.

Will would be keeping an eye on Olivia. He was not sure what her deal was and until he did, he'd protect those he loved with everything he had.


	7. Chapter 7

**All recognizable Sky High characters, places, and events belong to Disney and its affiliates. I am making no money from this endeavor. As for any original content: Any likeness, similarities, and resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), places, and events are unintentional and purely coincidental.**

**If anyone wishes to volunteer to beta this fic, feel free to contact me.**

**A/N: Hey guys, this isn't an update till ch. 10. I decided to break up ch. 7 to make it easier to read. Feel free to jump to ch. 10 if you've already read the huge ch. 7.**

Olivia slowed her bouncy steps to a casual walk as she didn't want to seem too eager to see Lash. She had him in her crosshairs and took a moment to adjust herself before she met the object of her crush. Luckily he seemed lost in thought so she was able to stealthily fix imaginary stray hairs and smooth out wrinkles that didn't exist. She somewhat hated that she was nervous but the excited bubbly feeling in her stomach overrode any insecurity she had.

Lash was very cute. She loved tall guys with dark hair and twinkling eyes. While he wasn't the blazin' hot that Warren was, Lash's good looks were very approachable; she felt like he wouldn't brush off her company. His aura was very mellow as well. He was someone she could see standing to be in his company for long periods of time. People who were high strung and nervous gave Olivia headaches so she was attracted to those who were chill.

She saw him sitting along on the steps, probably waiting to be summoned by Emma. Olivia tried her best to block out the bevy of images and sounds that invaded her mind from the people around her. Normally people weren't so projective but since it was the first day of school, students were hyped up on hormones. It tended to make for an interesting first day for a psychic.

Lash attempted to look aloof and totally disinterested in what was going around him but Olivia could tell he was trying to block out the open scorn and distrust students were sending his way. Olivia didn't need to be psychic to be able to tell what their feelings were towards his presence. She had to stop herself from outright reading him as it was rude to invade the aura and mind of a boy one liked.

Even when she was in front of him, he was still looking off into the distance and she saw that he had the trademark white ear buds in his ears indicating he was listening to music. She lightly tapped him to get his attention. Olivia then took her sunglasses off quickly so he'd see her perfectly normal brown eyes. She was subtly trying to tell him that she wasn't using her powers on him.

He was a bit surprised at her presence but he was glad to see a friendly face. He quickly looked at her outfit and he appreciated that too, as only a male could. He quickly looked up and hoped she didn't get the gist of what he was just thinking. Her eyes stayed a pretty brown so he slightly relaxed. He took out his ear buds to be polite.

"Hey" she started off cordially with a smile.

"Hey" was his reserved response. Neither wanted to seem too keen to talk to the other but on the inside both were turning with a bevy of emotions. Olivia was interested in getting to know him and slightly anxious about a possible rejection. He wasn't giving any overtly interested signs but he also wasn't showing any distaste. He was interested in making a new friend if nothing else but scared at the possibility of letting his mom down by succumbing to distractions. His fear was slightly assuaged by her kind smile and pretty eyes. They were slightly almond shaped which left her ethnicity, he thought she was some type of Spanish (possibly Italian), somewhat vague. Still, he thought he ought to drop the cold act because at the moment she seemed to be his only ally. And with her shenanigans with the lockers was any indication, she was a kindred prankster. While he couldn't participate in any hijinks he could certainly appreciate a good practical joke.

Olivia was never one to tolerate silence so she pushed ahead the conversation.

"So, what are you listening to?"

Olivia opted to keep to generic safe topics such as music.

"Umm…just some Asking Alexandria."

"Cool, I like them but I think Rise Against is better, just for the lyrics. I can understand them."

Lash gave a small smile because he knew exactly what she was talking about. He liked the raw aggression of AA's music but sometimes the meaning was lost as he had no idea what they were singing. While his parents didn't understand his choice in music, as most parents never understood, he felt better knowing there were others out there angry at the world and weren't sure why. There were others just as lost as he was.

They talked more about the different music they liked. Lash found out that Olivia had a pretty eclectic taste as she liked hard metal rock, like Metallica (older Metallica, nothing since 1997's ReLoad), contemporary electropop like Lady Gaga, and older folksier stuff like Jimmy Buffet.

"Yeah I know Jimmy Buffet is kind of random but my parents are total Parrotheads so I grew up around it. And some of it is really deep."

"Deep? He mostly sings about drinking and pot smoking."

"No he doesn't!" Olivia defended one of her musical idols and looked slightly scandalized. After a pause of reflection she had to admit "ok yeah he does. But not all of it completely, like 'He Went To Paris?' I love that song." She emphasized her point by bringing both hangs together above her heart.

"I sort of know it but not sure what you're talking about."

Lash liked this. Having a nice normal conversation that wasn't about his time in juvie or about what he did with Pain. He felt like a regular teenager.

"It's about this guy who travels a bit 'cause he has all these questions about the world he wants answered. But he meets this chick in Europe, like England or something…"

"It's called he went to Paris, why was he in England?"

"He went all over the place, it was the thing to do back then. Anyway he met her, got married and had a kid. Twenty years pass and he loses both of them to the war. And the line '_His body was battered, his whole world was shattered and all he could do was just cry'_" she sang in the familiar tune. "Oh my gawd that line just gets to me, especially the way he sings it. It's like he really means it and knows about that kind of loss"

All Lash could do was smile at the conviction Olivia gave to the emotion the song evoked in her. He didn't feel the same way, as the song wasn't even worth remembering to him, but he was entranced by her honesty and unapologetic sincerity. She really loved that song because it touched something in her.

"Yeah. I have no idea what you're talking about."

He gave a small laugh and a big smile to let her know that while he didn't feel the same way he wasn't trying to be a dick about it.

She smiled back because his smile was infectious. This was a totally different person than the scared and sullen boy she met the first time and a few moments ago. His whole face lit up and he had perfectly straight pearly white teeth. His easy going grin and longish mop of hair were very endearing and she was starting to like him more and more.

Lash looked beyond her over her shoulder and saw that the bus of Val kids had unloaded and were being directed by Emma. He lost track of time talking with Olivia.

"Shit, I got to get over there and get my newbie."

"Oh don't worry about that, you're paired with me."

"Really?"

Lash looked a bit suspicious.

"Yeah, I took a peek when Emma wasn't looking. Awesome coincidence right?" She laughed a bit nervously and she hoped he bought it. She didn't want him think she was being some weirdo psycho stalker.

He wasn't sure if he believed her but he was kind of glad either way. He knew she was cool and chill while the others he wasn't so sure about. He let it slide as he didn't think he'd get the whole truth from her anyway and he was glad for it regardless.

"Oh, cool. Whatevs. Still, I think we need to head on over."

"Yeah you're right, Ems would have a fit if we got lost or whatever."

Lash picked up his messenger bag and casually slung it over his shoulder then walked with Olivia over to the group of transfer students.

The pool of students looked fairly hesitant about their surroundings and they were constantly looking around, as if they were afraid of the school falling at any moment; which wasn't a totally unfounded fear. There were about 35 students in all including Olivia and Emma but excluding the Val freshmen since they went with the original Sky High freshmen. Lash calculated there were about 11 students per grade, the freshmen being the smallest at five or six, and he understood why Emma had to all but blackmail him to "volunteer" for the program. It seemed the super school Valhalla wasn't much bigger than the Sky High populace.

Lash started to feel nervous again because of the new group of students. He was thankful that the Val kids hadn't personally been a victim of his bullying or villainous plot but that didn't mean they wouldn't hold prejudice against him. Seeing some of the younger students he suddenly felt old and out of place. He was nineteen going on twenty in several months and felt like a loser. He was behind hero class wise but not with his mainstream school curriculum. He had his G.E.D. but still had to go to all the mandatory hero centric training classes. He also had to take several extra curriculums to be considered a full time student. Unfortunately for Lash, with the price of gas the administration wouldn't allow him to take half a day's worth of classes and then send him home on the bus by himself. They also wouldn't allow him to loiter around the school till everyone else got out. So he was stuck with two extra gym classes and an art class. He knew this was not going to fun but then he saw Olivia's comforting smile and she didn't seem hesitant in front of her friends at all at his presence. With her company he didn't feel so alone and nervous anymore.

"Hey, ya'll!" Olivia greeted the group with jovial abandoned.

The nearest students greeted her back in the same fashion and it was obvious to Lash that they all knew each other very well. It was kind of hard not to in a small school but there seemed to be a seamless camaraderie among the group. There were typical girlish squees of seeing their friend on the first day of school. The males were a lot more subdued with their fist pounds and "What's up?'s"

"Everyone, this is Lash. Lash this is Kerry, Jonah, Dom, Gabe, Cassie, and Maddie."

Olivia introduced them so quickly he wasn't quite sure who was who but they were all polite enough. None of them had a look of disgust or distrust on their face so he assumed that none of them really knew who he was.

"You're that dude who tried to take over the school." Jonah stated matter of factly.

Lash guessed wrong.

"Yeah" he replied slowly. Bracing himself for some kind of backlash.

"Dude." Was all Jonah said with a somewhat admiring tone to his voice and head nod as if he understood something. What he understood, Lash had no idea. He looked to all of them and they were all looking at him in sort of an understanding if not sympathetic gaze.

A new worry cropped up inside him as he was starting to wonder if he was repeating history with a bunch of villain wannabes.

"It was totally boss of you to try but your plan was all wrong."

Lash remembered her name being Maddie and she was a tall glass of water. She was only a few inches south of him and he wondered what her powers were as she had light aqua hair that didn't look dyed. He squashed down the urge to ask since he knew it was never polite to ask someone what their powers were. It was almost as bad as asking about religion or politics. Powers were a very personal topic and only uncouth ill bred douchebags like The Commander asked what powers were on the first greeting. He was always raised to never outright ask about powers but he knew that the topic was getting less and less taboo over the generations. Still his grandmother made sure to teach him the ways of polite super society and left the invasive questions to Steven Stronghold and Coach Boomer during Power Placement. Lash made an exception for the latter though, as it was necessary to show one's powers in order to be placed for Power Placement. Otherwise it was a discussion not to be brought up unless by the person willing to discuss their powers.

While Lash was contemplating Maddie's powers the group discussed his failed attempt at taking over the school.

"Yeah, like what was your end game anyway? You turned a bunch of supers in babies…and then what?"

The question caught Lash off guard because no one ever asked him about the particulars of the plan, only what would indict Pain such as what she used and stole.

"Ugh..I'm not sure what you mean."

"Like, what were you going to do if you got away with the babies? Like, were you going to **raise **them?"

"Oh, no. I think Pain had some sort of fortress somewhere in the Midwest where we were going to keep them."

"Well yeah, keep them but who was going to raise them? The report said there were only you four, and there are like what? Two hundred students give or take at Sky High? Plus the teachers who chaperoned that night. So that's like two hundred and five people turned into babies and only four of you guys. What exactly was the plan there? Were you going to care and raise the babies yourself? Did you think there were other villains waiting in the wings that Pain never told you about?"

Lash was stumped because now that he thought about it, he really wasn't sure what his role in the grand plan was. He knew he was supposed to help trap the students and make sure things ran smoothly. They didn't as he was bested by a sidekick who melted. While he didn't hold a lot of his old prejudices against the sidekick's, he still felt embarrassed by getting beaten by Ethan Daniels. The kid was like 5' 5", weighed nothing, and could only turn into a puddle. The power was good for evading Lash's attack but he was mostly outsmarted by the melter. Lash knew he got too arrogant and complacent; it was the only reason why Ethan had beaten him but even with that justification he couldn't shake off the mortification that the sidekick got one over on him.

So basically Lash had no idea who to answer the inquiries and was puzzled at the direction of the conversation. He was more ready for condemnation, not genuine curiosity. So he had no idea what part two of the plan was. He remembered Royal Pain brushing off his questions, telling him she had it all planned out and she'd tell him later. He remembered shrugging it off and thinking that Pain would take care of everything. He didn't think to wonder if she expected him to look after babies and all the care they entailed.

Olivia noticed the pensive look on Lash's face and knew he didn't know what the whole plan was. She was curious herself as to what the whole deal was but didn't think it was alright to ask him so soon. Her friends on the other hand can be as obnoxious as they want and ask away.

"Guys, come on! This is not Takeover Theory class, we're at Sky High. Give the guy a break, it was over a year ago."

"Whatevs Olivia, he's just totally stumped because the plan was not well thought through…kind of like your compromise of Valhalla." Cassie added in the last part with a wicked smile.

"Oh fuck you bitch. I keep telling you guys, I didn't do it!" Olivia defended herself with a laugh and a solid punch to Cassie's arm for good measure. Cassie hit her right back and the whole group minus Lash got into a play fight.

Lash was relieved to be off the hook and people's minds on something other than his short time as a Villain.

The one called Dom surprised attacked Olivia from behind with a huge bear hug.

"Give it up Olivia, admit you compromised the school!"

"Ugh you're such an asshole. You need to stop telling people I did it. I had to go to an effing psychiatrist because of those rumors."

Dom put her down and her friends looked at her incredulously.

"Are you freaking serious?"

"Yeah. Had to go to like, eight sessions to prove I wasn't 'showing villainous tendencies'"

There was a pregnant pause then all of a sudden they all busted out laughing.

"OMG that is…classic Olivia." Maddie said in between bouts of laughter. "I can't believe they actually believed me!"

"Shit, that was you? Holy crap I hate you so much right now."

"That's right it was me, that'll teach you next time you put dog biscuits in my luggage coming back from Mexico."

Olivia was silent but Lash could tell she was reliving a particularly pleasant prank by the evil smile she donned.

"Oh right, forgot about that."

"Well I didn't and that TSA agent probably never will either."

"I don't get it, dog biscuits?" Lash asked, wanting to be part of the conversation. While he wanted to lay low and do well, he couldn't help but slip back to his more innocent mischievous ways. The temptation of having a good set of friends was starting to be too much. The thought of going through his senior year alone was wearing down his resolve. This group of friends not only didn't care that he tried to take over the school but was impressed. They thought he was cool but not dangerous and he didn't get the feeling that they thought he was some kind of malfeasant. It was as if they brushed it off as a practical joke rather than criminal activity. It felt good to be included.

"Yeah, I placed some Milkbones in her luggage coming back from Spring Break in Cabo and the drug sniffing dogs went nuts. Seeing her panicked face was priceless. Especially since she thought she might have some leftover Kush."

"OK, really not funny being patted down and then have your entire bag searched to finally find Milkbones in your bag. I wished they found the damn weed with the weird looks they gave me thinking I ate dog treats."

The whole group got a good laugh out of that that. While they were all victims of Olivia now and then, they gave as good as they got so no one stayed angry for long.

"Well now we're even 'cause I had to freaking go to the shrink for over a month cause of that rumor, added into my top grade in Takeover Theory; my parents were really worried about me."

"What's Takeover Theory?" Lash asked cutting into all the laughter. Both pranks were very funny but he was curious as to what Valhalla was teaching their students.

"Oh it's this class designed to deter us from going into villainy. We each come up with various scenarios where we'd say how we'd take over the world. And then the teacher and class go over weak points and feasibility. Most of the time it was money and manpower that were the downfall of all of our projects; except little Miss Viridian here." Jonah explained.

All Olivia did in response was to stick out her tongue. Lash contemplated her last name as it seemed familiar but he had no idea where he heard it from. Olivia noticed his hesitance at her last name and felt that he had "tip of the tongue" syndrome and couldn't figure out where he heard her name before. She didn't want him to figure it out so soon so she distracted him with further explanation of Takeover Theory.

"Yeah like with your plan. Kids are like what? 187k per kid to raise these days? Minimum? So times that by an even 200 babies, that's like over 37 mill right there, not to mention the cost of you and your three teammates. Plus whatever it cost to build/maintain whatever compound she had in mind. So unless Royal Pain had some serious cash lying around, you guys were going to have to do some major bank robbing; which is a whole other set of problems involving the FDIC and taxpayer issues. And the class kind of goes on and on about all the problems involved in maintaining a villainous lifestyle. It was kind of a shame that Pain had decided to go into villainy instead of research and development. Could have made some serious cash with her invention and God knows what else she had up her sleeve."

He was about to ask her for more details; he wished there was such a class when he was a junior; might have saved him a lot of trouble, but was interrupted by a loud voice.

"Madison Bushon to the front." Emma had spoken piercingly and cut through their fun.

"Ugh I guess it's my turn, any idea what kind of kid she set me up with?"

This question was directed at Olivia since they knew she was close to Ems.

"Naw, sorry chica. I only checked who I was with."

And with that Maddie went off and headed to her fate. They all looked to her solemnly as they knew it would be their turn soon.

There an awkward silence as Maddie left. They didn't know how to really welcome the newcomer and were a bit distracted at their impending match up. Would they hate who they were paired up with? Would they hate Sky High? It was very apparent to them that they were no longer at Valhalla. The school was tiny compared to what they were used to and Valhalla was definitely not in the sky.

"So do you have any pearls of wisdom you want to share with us before we head off into the vast unknown of Sky High?"

Lash couldn't remember if this was Kerry or Gabe but since he didn't have to address them by name yet, he was going to play it off till he knew.

"Umm…don't fall off the edge."

He really wasn't sure what they were looking for in terms of advice. High school is high school right? And he hasn't been around for over a year so his info was outdated. He had no idea if things were the same or completely different.

They snorted at Lash's sarcastic remark. They knew they'd all get along fine. They knew to trust Olivia too. She wouldn't bring someone to the group unless she knew they were cool.

"Humph, fair enough. Any teacher or such we should be warned about?"

That was something he did feel a bit confident about. He knew that the teacher he hated the most was still there because a) there wasn't anything else the teacher could do and b) fate would have it that his most hated teacher would be there forever just to spite him.

"Yeah there's this really douche teacher, Mr. Medulla. He likes to cause the students pain and shoot them with various rays. I'm really not sure how he wasn't fired a long time ago but I'm pretty sure he's still here."

"Let me guess, Mad Science?"

"How'd ya know?"

"Well, I am psychic."

Olivia couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips as she was trying to look as serious as possible. People always got into little fits about her using her powers cavalierly. She didn't use it this time, she merely guessed for comedic effect.

"I'm kidding! We had a Mad Science teacher like that at Val. We're pretty sure there's some pre-requisite to be a total douche nozzle in order to teach mad science."

"Yeah I know right? Like there's some kind of special college course 'Douche Baggery 101' that's a Gen Ed."

They all got a good laugh at Lash's joke, mostly because they knew exactly what they were talking about.

"Yeah that is totally Dr. Pons. That guy…what a cunt." Kerry added.

They all nodded in agreement; Lash only could nod in empathy because he was sure Medulla was the exact same way.

Soon the rest of the friends were called and everyone had their Sky High buddy.

Dom, Jonah, and Maddie got seniors as they were in the same grade. Gabe, Kerry and Cassie were paired with Zach, Ethan and Maj respectively.

After polite pleasantries there was a bit of an awkward silence on the Sky High student's part. Maj, Zach, and Ethan (particularly Ethan) were less than thrilled to be in a group with Lash. Lash had no idea how to break the ice so he remained silent.

The Val kids were more or less oblivious to the state of their Sky High buddies with the exception of Olivia. She knew exactly what the problem was but wasn't about to go stirring the pot. She didn't want to get involved in an obviously personal issue between the four of them.

Maddie was not one afraid to question things out loud.

"So how did you get a senior when everyone else got a kid their own grade?" she asked of Olivia

"What? I'm slightly deaf in my right ear."

And then Olivia had turned away quickly without asking Maddie to repeat the question. Maddie knew that was code for "I'm not going to answer that so drop it" because she knew that Olivia had perfectly good hearing; and even if what the clairvoyant said was true, Maddie talked into her left ear. So it was some manipulation on Olivia's part and Maddie knew better than to trifle in the affairs of psychics. Olivia wanted Lash to be her buddy and Maddie was going to leave it at that.

There was a definite coldness coming from her buddy that much Kerry knew. He didn't know why the small black male was so ill-tempered but it did not bode well for the rest of the day. How was he supposed to enjoy his first day at a new school if the person who was supposed to show him around and make him feel welcomed was doing anything but?

Gabe and Cassie were more or less indifferent to their buddies and their buddies felt the same way. It was kind of awkward to throw strangers in together as they were. Even more awkward when Maj and Zach had to show them around a school they didn't like. They were at the bottom of the social and heroic food chain so what could they really show them that would make the newcomers comfortable?

The Sky High kids were saved by the voice of Emma calling through the crowds.

"OK, everybody. Follow us to the gymnasium for Power Placement."

The herd of students dutifully followed their leader and into the school. Most of them were looking curiously around their new surrounds except for Olivia who already got the behind the scenes look.

She and Lash shared a secret smile and laugh as there were still a few students trying futilely to open their lockers. Her group of friends just rolled their eyes as it was a classic Olivia prank but they did wonder how she was able to pull it off for the first day of school.

It was short walk to the gym as it was a much smaller school.

"Well it's cool you're stuff is all in one place. At Val, we'd have to go across campus to get to the Athletic Center." Cassie said conversationally. She was trying to break the ice with her Buddy because it seemed like Maj wasn't being very Buddy like. The goth seemed content to not add to the conversation at all.

It wasn't that Maj was trying to be unsocial; she just had no idea how to react to that statement. Yes the gym is in the same building as the rest of the school. So what? The shape-shifter just nodded her head and gave a small smile to let Cassie know she was listening and not being rude.

Ethan on the other hand was very willing to talk. While he was very perturbed at the presence of Lash, he couldn't help the know-it-all compulsion to explain everything he happened to know from reading the school handbook and Sky High's personal history website.

"Yes, the building was designed specifically to house everything a school would need on limited space due to restrictions of the floating platform. Sky High was built in 1938 as a need for more schools to accommodate the growing Super population. The newly discovered technology that allowed jet propulsion was proposed as one of the initial safety measures from Villain attack…not that it did much good" Ethan said the last part somewhat under his breath but Lash heard it all the same. He chose to ignore the melter and let Ethan go on with his unsolicited history of Sky High. "The other proposals being an underwater fortress off the coast of Los Angeles or a compound somewhere in the Klamouth Mountains; both were ultimately rejected due to pollution concerns and distance from parent Supers respectively. The school board led by Will's great grandfather John Preston 'The Chief' Stronghold…"

Olivia decided to stop listening after Ethan mentioned the Stronghold patriarch. She was all too familiar with the history of the Stronghold family and their stance on her people. She couldn't help the cold almost hateful stare she had when she glanced at the latest Stronghold scion.

Will felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise and instinctively looked around. He saw Olivia quickly look away from him but he saw enough. He saw raw distaste and anger on her face. He didn't know where that was coming from, especially from a psychic. He straightened his stance because he thought she was trying to get into his head as he knew that all psychics were trying to invade people's thoughts and steal secrets. He turned ahead and concentrated on getting through Power Placement and hoping Boomer had enough sense to send Olivia to Sidekick class where he wouldn't have to confront her on a daily basis.

Lash saw Olivia's mood darken and inquired about what was going on.

"Hey, what's the matter?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it. Just something stupid." Olivia brushed off the question as it was something she never really talked about. She gave Lash a genuine smile for his concern about her well being.

Lash smiled back and when he realized what was happening he quickly turned away. This slightly hurt and confused the hell out of Olivia.

"_Do I have something in my teeth?_"

She self-consciously rubbed her tongue along her teeth to rid herself of any food particles but didn't feel any. She was very tempted to reach out and see what was wrong but clamped down on any urge to do so. She was not the type to use her powers so cavalierly…on people she liked. She had to deal with the anxiety that came with uncertainty if she wanted to have any kind of genuine relationship, or even a friendship, with the stretcher. She learned the hard way that some things really weren't her business and she ought to be careful what she tries to tap into.

Lash berated himself internally for letting himself like the psychic. She was cool and pretty but she was also trouble. Not villain trouble but enough to get him paranoid. School had just started and he just met her and had a tentative friendship; he didn't need to go screwing things up with liking her. He resolved his nerves and told himself that it was ok to be friends wither. He could be friends with her. He could keep things cool and not get in too deep.

He looked to her again and saw that she had this kind of frowny deep thinking face going on. He couldn't help but think it was adorable on her.

He huffed a bit at his feelings and thought "_Fuck my life_."


	8. Chapter 8

**All recognizable Sky High characters, places, and events belong to Disney and its affiliates. I am making no money from this endeavor. As for any original content: Any likeness, similarities, and resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, and events are unintentional and purely coincidental.**

**If anyone wishes to volunteer to beta this fic, feel free to contact me.**

**A/N: Hey guys, this isn't an update till ch. 10. I decided to break up ch. 7 to make it easier to read. Feel free to jump to ch. 10 if you've already read the huge ch. 7.**

They all entered the massive gym and the Val kids didn't know what to expect. They were led to stand in front of a podium facing the doors behind glass windows and waited. Suddenly there was a ball of fiery light that shown in bright whites and blues.

Even before the iridescent sphere manifested into its human form Olivia commented "Cool. I didn't know Comet taught here."

"Duh, she's the principal." Maddie told her sarcastically.

"How the eff was I supposed to know that?"

"Ummm it's in the bloody handbook." Gabe chimed in.

"Oh, was I supposed to actually read that? My bad." Olivia replied totally unapologetically. "It's really just a book full of stuff I'm not supposed to do. No thanks."

"Not that you'd follow the rules anyway."

"Too true. Too true."

With their little conversation they completely missed the pep talk the principal just told. But something dawned on Olivia.

"Wait. Lynda Powers is the principal of Sky High?"

"Yeah" Lash confirmed.

"So she's Principal Powers?"

Olivia laughed at her own joke and the others joined in.

Lash didn't get what was so funny. "I don't get it."

"Nothing…it's just that alliteration is awesome. I wonder who else teaches here."

Just as she pondered the faculty a platform rose from the floor and stood a tall man facing away from them with weirdly short white gym shorts on. He had a black and white letterman jacket on and donned a navy blue hat. The circular stage rotated slowly in what Olivia thought a dramatic fashion, as if the male wanted to keep the students in suspense.

"I give points for a theatrical presentation but I feel it's a bit…holy shit." Olivia cut herself off as she recognized the gym teacher. It felt as if her heart stopped in her chest. She couldn't believe he was here and that she actually would have met him in her lifetime. She quickly looked across the gym at Lyndsey. The black girl held her head down, shy around new people. Looking lost as to what to do and where to look. Being in a big crowd of strangers was way out of her comfort zone. The few friends she had were either at Academy of Heroes or near Olivia. So she felt alone and waited for instruction. She hoped she wouldn't have to publicly speak or be the center of attention. She wished Emma was with her to act as a buffer between herself and new people. She had always been "criminally shy" and could never approach people on her own. It didn't make sense but she could never make new friends on her own because couldn't talk to people she didn't know. She needed someone else she already knew to get to meet new people. She felt someone looking at her and looked up for a moment. Everyone was staring at the teacher in the middle of the gym. Making a speech about what was expected of them and his purpose of overseeing them that day. No one was looking at her so Lyndsey brushed it off as first school day jitters.

Olivia looked away before Lyndsey could catch the psychic looking at her in a slight panic.

Emma caught onto Olivia's state quickly.

"Do you know him?"

"What?" Olivia replied with a noticeable higher pitch to her voice. "No I don't ** know **him, why would I know him? I know **of** him of course. It's Sonic Boom. He's the douche who knocked down half of Busche Gardens five years ago fighting the Tan Shih Tzu. We missed out on the school trip that year because he couldn't handle a guy dressed like a fucking prissy dog and was bent on taking over the 'nations' at a theme park. Turns out he wasn't a real bad guy, just a mentally ill man. It's that the crazies thing?"

Emma wasn't sure if Olivia had taken a breath at all during her babbling. She finally exhaled and breathed in; then she quickly looked away and seemed totally interested in what the teacher called "Coach Boomer" was saying. Emma was immediately suspicious as Olivia was never interested in what teachers had to say unless it was Sgt. Williams, their Elite Hero instructor at Valhalla.

Olivia wasn't spewing her heart out so Emma knew enough to wait till Olivia broke. The psychic was notoriously bad at keeping secrets from her so it was only a matter of time before Olivia broke down and told her. Coach Boomer was a teacher, so whatever Olivia had on him had to be good; especially if it made Olivia so skittish. Normally Emma tried to keep teachers off limits to any type of student politics because messing with adults was a bit out of their league at the moment. Teachers had a much bigger reach and trying to get adults under their thumb was normally a bad idea. Even Olivia was hesitant to explicitly go after teachers and adults. They preferred to be subtle in their manipulations of grownups. It's better to get them on their side by persuasion and letting them they were all sugar and spice. So to say the least, Emma was intrigued.

"...now I don't want to hear from any 'whiner babies' about where I place you. My word is **law**"

The fact that Boomer used his powers arbitrarily to emphasize his point was kind of lame in Olivia's mind. He should be able to instill authority through his own natural leadership skills, not a capricious use of his powers. What she knew about him and what she learning about him did not endear him to her.

She also had a feeling that she missed something in his speech. Something about being placed and something about what Carl had texted her about earlier.

"Not to be completely ADD but what's going on?"

The question was directed at Lash as he would know best.

"It's Power Placement. He sorts you guys based on your powers."

"Oh. Ok."

This was a fundamental misunderstanding. Lash assumed that Olivia and the group had something similar at Valhalla so he thought she knew when he said "sort" that she knew he meant into "Hero" or "Sidekick."

Olivia on the other hand thought "sort...based on your powers" meant that they'd be separated by the type of power they had. i.e. psychics with psychics, elemental based powers with other elementals, and so on and so forth. She figured Carl must have been mistaken when he texted her earlier and he hadn't texted her sense so the issue must have been cleared up.

The misunderstanding would be made apparent very quickly.

"Baden Brodick! To the front." Boomer called out.

The Warren look a-like had strutted up to the platform with applause and catcalls; all from the Val kids being obnoxious and cheering on their fellow student. The Sky High students were taken aback by the sudden cheering and camaraderie.

Layla was surprised to see the Valhalla student and she remembered Olivia's story about mistaken Warren for the guy. They definitely had striking similarities and she could see why Olivia had thought Warren was Baden. When studying their differences, Baden was not as built nor did he have as sharp of features. Baden looked like Warren would look if the pyro didn't work out and had short hair. There was a distinct different type of air to Baden as well; where Warren was serious and stoic Baden seemed…goofy and relaxed to put it best. The male also seemed to be a bit of a ladies' man as he kept eyeing all the Sky High females in the crowd and winking at them. Even Layla got a cursory once over and million dollar smile. She loved Will with all her heart but even she internally swooned at the attention. She wouldn't doubt that Sky High had a new mega crush in their midst.

Olivia had to roll her eyes at the sudden wave of teenage infatuation rolled over her. She really didn't see the appeal to Baden; pretty package but not a lot inside. She contemplated being more charitable since she did have the advantage to get a more in depth look into Baden but then decided she ought to be more judgmental. It doesn't take a psychic to know that Baden is not exactly the sharpest tool in the tool shed. While generally a good guy he was dim as a ten watt bulb but he always seemed to be able to attract females even after they talked to him. Olivia suspected he might have a secondary power of hypnosis but couldn't prove it. Either way she was immune to his charms and accepted she wouldn't ever know what the attraction was to the slow male.

"That's enough, hot stuff. Power up." Coach Boomer calmed the crowd down and ordered Baden.

Olivia frowned at the faux pas but shrugged it off a necessity since they were grouping the Val kids and she guessed they needed to show their powers in order to properly access them.

Baden did as he was told and a soft blue glow emitted from his hands. Coach Boomer raised an eyebrow and clearly looked less than impressed.

"What is it that you're supposed to be doing?"

"Ummm" Baden furrowed his brow as if he was thinking deeply and trying to remember what his powers were.

Olivia snorted and she wouldn't be surprised if he didn't remember his powers as he seldom used them.

"I heal people." He finally said.

"Right."

Coach Boomer paused for a moment and thought of his next move. He couldn't really have the new kid really show his powers as he wasn't hurt and he wasn't allowed to hurt a student to prove another's powers. This was a case where he'd have to take the kid's word for it and place him.

So he wrote on his little writing board, making a note to keep an eye on Brodick and announced "Hero!"

"WTF?"

"What?"

"Hold on, this ain't right"

All the Val kids were making a commotion of what just happened. This was not the way things were done at Valhalla and Baden was certainly no Hero. The kid barely passed Sidekick classes; he was definitely not Hero potential.

All Boomer heard was the white noise of the students talking all at once and he wasn't about to have his authority questioned.

"**Quiet down!**" he boomed, his powers making the windows vibrate with its force.

It did the trick and Boomer was pleased with himself. He did notice a short dark haired girl all but glaring at him. He brushed her off because he was used to such hateful glares. He was sure that she had a Sidekick power and he'd put her in her place soon enough.

Too bad Coach Boomer never had enough sense when to make enemies and when to make allies.

"Madison Bushon."

The blue haired girl nervously went up to the podium. She didn't like that she had to step up in front of everyone and show off her powers. She was especially scared because there didn't seem be any rhyme or reason to why Coach Boomer awarded Hero or Sidekick. At Val she wasn't just placed in Hero but part of the Elite Hero program. It unnerved her that all her hard work would be worth nothing here at Sky High.

She got up on the platform and she knew she was supposed to power up but before she had the chance, Olivia spoke out.

"Um, question!"

Coach Boomer looked to the same dark haired girl he observed earlier and sighed a bit in frustration. He was right; she was going to be a pain in his ass.

"What?" he replied shortly.

"Yeah…not to be all ADD but what exactly is going on here?"

It was a good question as all the Valhalla kids wanted to know.

Boomer impatiently rolled his eyes and can't believe the short attention spans of kids these days. He just went over what he was there for, did any of them listen? He knew that accepting the displaced students would be a hassle. He did not want to deal with even more hormonal super powered teens but here he was. He was glad it was only for one school year, after that his classes would go back down to more manageable sizes.

He debated whether or not to even answer her because he was sure she would be a pain either way so just to clarify and not have any of the other new students ask him the same question again and again, he replied.

"It's Power Placement. As in I place you based on your powers."

Olivia did not appreciate his condescending tone and chose to ignore it as she guessed she was going to have to be the grown up in this scenario.

"Yeah I get that part. I just don't understand how you're assigning Hero and Sidekick."

"You show me you're power and I go from there."

"OK what makes you qualified to judge us based only on something as insignificant as our powers? Do you have any sort of degree in analyzing powers and have some sort of formula in determining approximately how well they'd do as a Hero or Sidekick? "

"Insignificant?" Boomer sounded particularly affronted at the notion that powers didn't matter. Powers were everything! "Listen here, my powers have saved me on more than one occasion and make a Super Hero a Super Hero. As for assigning Hero and Sidekick, it's pretty obvious who would do well and who wouldn't. There's no way someone with say the power to turn into a gerbil"

"Hey, I can turn into a guinea pig." Maj cut in the most deadpan voice she could muster.

"… would be able to go up against someone who can fly or spit acid." Boomer pressed on.

"You mean like the Tan Shih Tzu? Your powers saved you from a deranged man dressed like a puppy? And that's such a small minded and obtuse way of looking at things. Power usefulness is fluid and can change with time; it's about finding the right recourse on how to use them. Not just assuming that might makes right. It's also about character; just because you call someone a hero doesn't make them one. Four of your past students who have been assigned Hero had proven that they had no intention of taking up the mantle. You are doing a grave injustice to those who's potential is overlooked due you're inability to see the bigger picture."

Olivia knew she shouldn't rock the boat like this but she couldn't help but take the dig at the adult. He was all sorts of ridiculous and she was starting to get defensive. She quickly looked at Lash, hoping he wouldn't take offense at what she just said. While she didn't outright name him, it was obvious that she was referring to him and the others who had tried to take over the school.

Boomer had nothing to say, he just clenched his jaw and gave the girl a death glare. He did not like to be reminded of that particular misstep with a mentally ill man that happened years ago. He also didn't like to be reminded that four of his best students turned to the darkside. She had hit home with the subject and he swallowed the bitter bile that crept up his throat. Old insecurities about his abilities to be a Hero were thrown into question. He was assigned the Hero all those years back and he never managed to go to the heights such as The Commander and Jetstream. He was stuck training future generations of Heroes while the others were always called. His own red cell phone stayed silent. While she had major valid points, it was just the way things were done. There was nothing he could do about it. He wasn't about to let some mouthy upstart throw his gym into chaos.

"My word is the end all and be all of where you go. I decide Hero and Sidekick; end of story. I don't need some temporary student telling me how to do my job." He said coldly and with a finality that left no room for arguments.

There was a bit of a staring contest between the two and Olivia knew it was a losing battle but she was determined to win the war. This wasn't over but she averted her eyes in defeat. It was not a time to go one on one with the teacher as she didn't have anything in her defense or anything to attack the issue at hand. What she needed to do was plan.

There was a tense silence in the room. No one had ever stood up to Boomer like that and not gotten the Boom treatment.

Layla stared at the new girl with something akin to admiration. She was right, Olivia was bold and articulate. The psychic wasn't afraid to stand up to authority and point out the hypocrisy of the system. Not only that, she was able to get through to Boomer. While the placements still went on, it was clear that Olivia had touched a nerve within Boomer. Maybe together they could enact a change that would equalize way those with so called "powerful" abilities with those who were seen as "useless." She had to talk to Olivia afterwards.

All Maddie could do was stand there awkwardly as she wasn't sure the proper reaction to what just happened. So she decided to stand as still as she possibly could and look at anything but Boomer and Olivia. Maybe if she didn't move then they couldn't see her. It was totally irrational but in a panic she wasn't the most clear minded person.

"What are you waiting for? Power up." Boomer ordered shortly.

She looked to Olivia for some direction and all the psychic did was smile and mouth "You can do it! He's a douche nozzle"

That made Maddie feel a ton better, to know that some on her side and also thought unkindly of the teacher. She took a deep breath and concentrated on her surroundings. She felt a connection to outside and figured that was the closest water source she had at the moment that wouldn't damage the school. The gym suddenly got darker as light was blocked out by a sudden thick frost that had accumulated on all the windows.

"So you're another freeze girl?"

"No I can manipulate water. I just froze the condensation from the air outside. I can't create water, only control it."

"Hero."

Maddie was a little shocked and somewhat pleased. She knew she had a powerful gift and was glad to still be considered for the Hero position but something felt a little cheap about the title of Hero. At Val she was on the way to becoming a Hero but here they just gave it to her. Felt a bit empty.

"Get off my stage." Boomer commanded at Maddie who had frozen up again.

The day went on more or less the same way. Students went up and displayed their power. Some were Hero, others were Sidekicks.

Gabe wowed the crowd with his ability to explode his body and left Boomer with a comical blown away look complete with black ash on his face and his eyebrows smoldering. It was even more impressive when Coach had dropped the car on him and there was nothing left but dust. All that was left of Gabe was a yellow noxious cloud of dust that reformed him to his former self, completely unharmed. Boomer declared him hero then had a fit of coughing.

Cassie phases through the clip board Boomer held and he declared her Hero.

A few other Val kids went through the process, half and half going to Hero and Sidekick.

It was Dom's turn and he refused to look intimidated. He had a bad feeling of what was about to go down and anger pulsated through him already. It was an obvious pattern of how Hero and Sidekick were assigned. All the offensive powers were deemed good enough to make a student Hero while anything that wasn't aggressive was Sidekick. Frustration marred his features at the thought be being demoted to Sidekick without any other type of test. He was more than qualified to be a Hero at this point in his training at Valhalla but all the hard work he put in was about to be for nothing.

"What are you waiting for, power up."

"My power doesn't work that way, there's no physical manifestation of my power."

"Well then what is your power?"

"I can unlock locks and can't be restrained."

"That's it? You can escape restraints?"

"I can also unlock doors and locks."

"So can a locksmith. Sidekick."

Olivia had felt Dom's rage for a bit and knew what was about to happen. She quickly grabbed Emma's arm and launched herself at Dom. She could only hope she got to him in time before he did something very stupid.

Lucky for her Dom was at the edge of the stage and within arm's reach of him. Dom had stepped up to Boomer in an aggressive manner. He wasn't sure what he was going to do but he couldn't handle being labeled as a Sidekick. With all the blood, sweat, and tears he put into his training; he couldn't stand for it to be reduced to nothing because of his powers.

His actions were halted because he slightly lost his balance due to Olivia grabbing his ankle. Also time had stopped. Boomer had a deep scowl frozen on his face and he checked off on his clip board, writing no doubt the damning words that made Dom a Sidekick. The familiar rage bubbled inside of him and he couldn't keep it in any longer, it was almost painful all the anger he held inside of himself. He was so angry he had to let it out on the source of his rage.

Once again he was foiled by Olivia, she had pinched his Achilles heel expertly and he couldn't help has his leg crumbled under the pain.

"What the **fuck **do you think you're doin'?"

"What the hell Liv? That fuckin' hurt."

"Not as much as the ass whoopin' your mom **and **dad would have given you if you were expelled for attacking a teacher."

"I wasn't going to attack him." he said a little too quickly. Olivia gave him a look and under the stare he couldn't lie. "Ok I might have…I wasn't really sure what I was going to do."

"With all the training we've had, you should know how to control your temper."

"Like you're one to talk Em. Besides it's easy for you to say, you were made Hero. All the work you've done and progress you've made hasn't been put to hell and discarded."

"Fuck you Dom!"

"See, where's your temper control now?"

"**Shut up!**"

Both super teens quieted immediately at the loud yell of the psychic. It was very rare for Olivia to ever lose her cool so they knew it was not the time to fuck around. This was a serious problem that needed to be rectified. Not for some petty reason such as pride but for serious consequences when they went back to Valhalla.

"Listen, I get that this is a bad situation. Very bad. Especially for you Dom. You're a Senior and if you're stuck in Sidekick classes then it really is going to fuck up everything you've worked so hard for. You can't finish your training if all they're going to teach you is how to throw a cross bow to the nearest Hero. There's also the issue of the Final Test to get Elite certification. I don't even know if they have accommodations for such a test. So this is what I need you to do."

She grabbed Dom's head and made sure he looked straight into her eyes. She needed to get through his anger to his more common sense side. "I need you to keep your fucking cool till we figure this out. We can't have you expelled with nowhere to go but AoH. I doubt it'll be any better there and you'd be breaking up the team. We didn't work so fucking hard to get where we are and lose you now. Understand?"

Dom nodded in acquiescence but still wasn't sure about what Olivia could do. He had faith in her though so he felt better about his situation. Calm started to settle in him and the girls gave him a moment to get himself together enough to be able to stand in front of Boomer and not want to throttle the teacher.

They all composed themselves and got back to their places. Emma unfroze time and no one was the wiser to their intervention of Dom. There would be a meeting of sorts of the Val students who were in the Elite Program and they needed to figure out a way to rectify this Hero/Sidekick business or else a lot of them were in a lot of trouble.

Dom was still giving Boomer death glares but at least he wasn't attacking the coach. By the time Boomer finished writing Sidekick besides Dom's name the bell rang for lunch.

"OK, we'll break for lunch. Well start up at 12:30. Now scat!"

As the kids walked out of the gym Coach Boomer sighed and steadied himself. This had to be the worst Power Placement he'd ever done. He always had the utmost confidence in any of the decisions he made when it came to placing the future generation of supers but now he wasn't so sure. It was a different time and things aren't so cut and dry. Seeing Lash in the crowd was proof of that. He was probably the teacher who was hurt the most by Lash and Speed's turn to villainy. They were his star pupils. Proof of how power could triumph in any situation. When Warren and Will beat them it proved his theory even further. The only thing that beat the powerful duo were those with more power. But Speed and Lash weren't heroes. Four of his top students weren't heroes and their powers didn't mean much if all they were going to do was use it for evil. There was some hope though. He was glad to see Lash in the crowd too. Bittersweet as it was it was comforting to know Lash was turning his life around; that it wasn't too late for him to make things right.


	9. Chapter 9

**All recognizable Sky High characters, places, and events belong to Disney and its affiliates. I am making no money from this endeavor. As for any original content: Any likeness, similarities, and resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), places, and events are unintentional and purely coincidental.**

**If anyone wishes to volunteer to beta this fic, feel free to contact me.**

In the lunchroom there was a bit of a dark cloud hovering around the group of friends.

"Hey, Olivia. Sorry about the misunderstanding. I thought I was clear when I explained Power Placement." Lash said trying to fill the tense silence.

"Nah. It's all good. It wasn't going to go good no matter how well informed I was. It was pretty brutal."

"Yeah. That's Sky High for ya." Zach chimed in with a hint of bitterness. "Take all your hopes, dreams, and self-esteem and crush it into a steaming blob of pulsating anger until all you have left is a bitter hateful goo that fills your insides."

They all looked at him weirdly, especially Layla and Will who had no idea their friend was so effected by his placement.

"Right. I hear that. I know you guys are supposed to chill with us an all but would you mind leaving us for lunch? Just want to have a little talk with my fellow Vals."

Layla was taken back since she wasn't expecting this at all. She was really hoping to talk to Olivia and the others about trying to change Sky High's policy of assigning Hero and Sidekick but it seemed it would have to wait till later. She respected their wishes though and walked hand in with Will to their usual lunch spot. Will was all too happy to have lunch with his girlfriend and friends. He thought the Val kids were being weird and secretive. He did have a slight fear they were planning something nefarious. What would they need to talk about that they couldn't talk about in front of them? He made sure to sit where he could keep an eye on the group and get a better sense of what they were up to.

Lash walked away to a nearby empty table, a little sad that he was kicked out of the group already. He couldn't expect to be attached to the hip with his new friends but he was hoping he'd have someone to have lunch with. Olivia hated to see him go but the team's welfare was in jeopardy as well as her future. So she had to prioritize and unfortunately, cute boys got trumped by years of work in danger of going down the drain.

As soon as the Sky High Students left they got right down to business.

"This is effing messed up."

Cassie was the first one to speak and surmised their situation perfectly.

"Ladies and gentlemen. We know this is not the best of situations but it's something we have to deal with till a solution is reached." Emma started out, trying to be as diplomatic as possible.

"Deal with it? Are you serious? I'm a fucking Sidekick and from the way Boomer's doing things, half of us are going to be Sidekicks. Not only are we separated but God knows how far behind we'll fall in our training. Did you see that gym? It doesn't look like it's equipped to handle anything but some sparing matches. I wouldn't be surprised if Maddie, Gabe, and Ems fall behind too. This school is ridiculous."

"You're right. When looking at schools we didn't take into account that they might not be up to par with Valhalla. I'll talk to the others at AoH and see if they're in any better situation. It could be possible it's not too late to still go there. But given that most of us are already settled into houses etc...we have to be prepared to still stay here regardless if AoH is better. So I think the best course of action would be to try and fix the situation instead of trying for greener pastures. As for the gym, it's still to be determined if it's equipped properly or not. Looks can be deceiving when it comes to today's technology. For all we know it's all computerized and made to be as space saving as possible." Olivia rationalized.

Dom was frustrated with the lack of a definitive plan but knew it was all they had going at the moment. It almost made him sick to his stomach thinking of being called a Sidekick. Coming to Sky High was starting to look like the worst decision they could have made as a team. AoH was in the middle of nowhere and supposedly underground so the flying school seemed the best course of action. They had all agreed that California sounded infinitely better than Ohio but now it was possible it was too late and they'd have to live with their decisions. Dom considered his options and he thought it would be possible to drop out all together and get Elite Certification on his own time. It'd be a pain and costly but it was better than graduating as a Sidekick. He kept this option to himself because he did not want to get on Olivia's bad side until a plan was thought up. If nothing could get them out of the situation then she couldn't fault him for doing what was best for him.

Dom looked at Maddie and Jonah and wondered if they would follow suit as they were seniors also. Maddie had made Hero but Jonah's fate was still undetermined. The three seniors were part of the Elite Program and they had the most to lose. They could only put their fate in Olivia and Ems hands as the two girls were the strategists of the group.

The conversation went as far as it could go and Olivia felt frustrated by the lack of plans as well. She felt impotent and helpless to decide her fate and she didn't know how the students of Sky High could stand being told whether or not they could be a Hero or Sidekick.

A slow burning anger rose inside of her as she saw Baden and his herd of female groupies. It wasn't that she cared if he surrounded himself with bimbos but she hated that he was flaunting his Hero status around. As if he had earned the title instead of have it handed to him irreverently on the whim of a has been super. She then caught site of Lyndsey. The female was eating lunch with a few of the other shy and low key students of Valhalla. Olivia noticed Lynds staring at something and following her line of sight saw that Lyndsey was eyeing Baden. Olivia couldn't help her eyes rolling at the pathetic display. She had no sympathy for those who crushed and pine away for someone they could easy get to know. Instead of ever getting the courage to actually talk to Baden other than the cordial small talk or even deep conversation about some tv show, Lyndsey always kept things in the friend zone. The girl was never brave enough to take things into actual flirting but then always moaned about how she'd never get the guy.

"_Ugh, so pathetic. I wouldn't doubt that she'll obsess about the guy and build up this impossible romantic version of him and be so hurt when nothing comes of it because she's too scared to go after what she wants. Whatever. She'll get out of it exactly what she puts into it which will be nothing._"

Olivia knew her thoughts were a pretty harsh assessment and that not everyone could be as confident as her but it wasn't as if she was so bold as to ask Lash right out. She just knew she had to play the game in order to win. Lyndsey was content in staying on the sidelines but at the same time bitch about how she'd end up a cat lady. In the past when they were still friends, Olivia had done everything she could to convince Lyndsey to go after what she wanted but it all fell on deaf ears. It was very annoying to be ignored when asked what to do so eventually Olivia gave up. Then the whole friendship disintegrated and when it was all over Olivia was glad that it did.

Olivia then looked to Ems as she knew the time bender was also infatuated with the healer. Ems was a bit of a wild card in this game as she sometimes had bouts of insecurity about boys and others she'd do her slow pace courtship. So it would be interesting to see how it played out since both Lynds and Ems were friends and crushing on the same guy. Make for an interesting tenure at Sky High.

Olivia saw that Lash was eating alone and took the opportunity to get to know him better.

"K, I'm out." Was all Olivia said as she grabbed her lunch bag and headed over to the stretcher.

"Ohhhhh I get it now. Go and get some!" Gabe said obnoxiously loud when he figured out Olivia's game.

Olivia's only response was her middle finger held up behind as she continued to walk away without looking back.

Lash felt depressed eating alone and he wasn't surprised no one would sit with him. He wasn't very well liked even before trying to take over the school but he had a posse he hung out with. While Payne and Penny weren't exactly the greatest of friends at least they were better than eating by himself. Looking at his pathetic plate of what the cafeteria called food; he really felt the loneliness hit him hard. No one but him and his terrible food to keep him company. The conversations of dozens of students melted into white noise but he could tell they were all happy and carefree. They were all excited to be there and happy to be hanging out with their friends. Lash hated to feel sorry for himself but that was how he felt.

"Hey, sorry about that. Little damage control from the brutal Power Placement this morning and I'm sure will be the same after lunch."

Lash looked up and saw Olivia standing there with her lunch bag. He straightened up a bit and a big smile erupted from his face without him even knowing it. He was very glad to see her even though it had only been like ten minutes since she asked him to leave. Being alone and depressed made time seem slower and he was very relieved he wouldn't have to be alone for the entire lunch break.

He was smiling again and Olivia couldn't help the goofy grin she smiled back at him. The butterflies in her stomach were doing summersaults at the thought that smile was just for her. He seemed genuinely happy that she came by. It gave her more confidence and she sat down without asking. It was a quasi-rude habit she formed, not asking for permission to do things like sit or places to go. She figured it was better to ask forgiveness than it was to get permission. If it was that big a deal then people would let her know. But she had found that most people were so afraid of confrontation that they basically let her do whatever she wanted. It was brazen and rude but she figured if she got her way then it was well worth it. Fortunately for her, bravery, confidence, and rudeness were all the same to most people.

"So what's Valhalla like, since it's pretty obvious you were blindsided by Power Placement."

"It's so totally different. Like, no one tells you if you're a Sidekick or a Hero. You pick the track you want to go into. You either fail it and get transferred; or you do well and move up. Ugh! I am so effing angry at this system."

Lash thought she looked really cute when she was angry. She made this adorable scrunched pissed off face that looked out of place on such a petite girl.

"Wow, that's actually pretty cool. But what if their powers won't do anything to help defend themselves or attack a villain? I mean I kind of think Coach Boomer has a point. What can someone who only glows do against someone who can turn into a rock monster?"

"No you're right; some powers have definitely advantages in battle I'm not denying that. But it's such a narrow view to take when it comes to fighting. If you're in a war, are you going to stand in straight lines and only fight with whatever weapon you happen to have and hope it's stronger than your enemies?"

Lash immediately got the picture of British soldiers doing the line formation and shooting their rifles. He always thought it was a crazy way to fight and didn't understand why they didn't have the sense to do evasive maneuvers and saw that Olivia had a point. He shook his head acknowledging the point and she went on to explain.

"No you wouldn't because it's stupid. You'd dodge, use the land around you to your advantage, possible create weapons on the spot if you needed to. You'd figure out a way to win no matter what powers or weapon you're enemy has. You work with what you got to your advantage. That's the same principle that is taught at Valhalla. If all you can do is glow then they teach you how to use that to your advantage. And they teach you other skills you'd need to make up for what you lack. Here at Sky High, it's like they think you have no other value or contribution to make other than your powers and that's really sad because I'm sure if given the right tools, a lot more people here would be Heroes."

"Hmm. I never really thought of it that way. Still…I just can't see a lot of our Sidekicks kicking ass and takin' names. No matter how much you teach them. I mean honestly, a girl here; all she can do is turn into a bouncy ball."

Olivia chortled at that revelation and giggled for another minute. She knew it was weakening her case but the way Lash said it was too funny. Like he just couldn't imagine a bouncy ball hurting anyone and Olivia had to admit, at the moment neither could she.

"OK, I admit." Trying her best to give a serious face but was failing marvelously. "That's a pretty hard sell but it still doesn't mean that she couldn't make Hero and we'd never know unless she was given the chance. And maybe you're right, not everyone can be a Hero. Some people really are meant to be Sidekicks. They're good at research and helping out when the situation calls for it but don't want to be directly in harm's way. That's another thing, does everyone who gets assigned Hero want to be a Hero? It's a dangerous job and not everyone has the mindset for it. They might want to better serve their community by: having a nine to five job, pay their taxes, have kids, and raise them to be good citizens. I wouldn't begrudge them that either. What I wouldn't do though is tell them who they're supposed to be; which is what I think Sky High is doing. It's not right and it needs to change."

Lash nodded and he wondered what he would have done if he was actually given a choice of whether or not to be a Hero; probably still chosen Hero. While he wasn't sure he wanted to go out and save lives, he definitely knew he didn't want to be a Sidekick. Unsure about his future is better than being at the bottom of the social heap.

Layla knew she shouldn't be listening in but she couldn't help herself. She was so entranced by what Olivia was saying and was so happy that others felt the same way she did. She always got the feeling that Will only agreed with her because she's his girlfriend and best friend before that. That he wasn't very interested in changing the status quo because it's how it has always been done before. The others were also as nonchalant about it for the most part. They didn't care to enact a change that would change the world for the better. She really wanted to go over and talk with Olivia but there were several problems: One being she'd have to admit listening which is rude. Second was that she couldn't just invite herself over to a table. That was also rude. Third was the Lash issue. While she wasn't as unforgiving as the others, it didn't mean she wanted to rock the boat and alienate her friends. So she decided that she would make it a priority to get Olivia alone and discuss things with her.

"So our buddies seem kind of standoffish. They didn't even want to eat lunch with us." Ethan commented.

"Well it's a big transition for them. I'm sure they want to get their wits about them without our biased opinion of Sky High?"

Layla wasn't that confident in her answer but she didn't want them to write off the new students yet.

"Yeah it seems that whole group was friend before so I'm not sure if they're interested in making any new ones." Maj chimed in with her own observations.

"Well it seems Olivia doesn't have any issue with making friends with **Lash**." Will spit out the stretcher's name as if it had a bad taste in his mouth.

Ethan nodded grimly in agreement. He didn't trust the new girl if she was going to be so eager to hang out with that hooligan. He wouldn't be surprised if history repeated itself and they were all in on some kind of dastardly plot. The invasion of Valhalla was very suspicious and the culprits still weren't caught. He had followed the story with great interest and could only hope to be able to help with the investigation somehow. He'd keep an eye on the new kids and see what happened.

Layla, ever the peacemaker, tried to calm their fears.

"Well it's not like she really knows Lash, she just met him so she's probably not aware of…his reputation." She didn't believe in calling him a villain as he did his time and they let him in. They wouldn't let him back in if he was still bad…right?

"She should know she's a psychic." the taciturn firestarter contributed.

There was a tense silence among the friends. They weren't aware of her powers, Will had an idea and Warren just confirmed it. He knew there was something off about Olivia. Psychics can't be trusted. The others looked uncomfortable as they had never encountered a psychic before and there had always been this underlying unsaid distrust of them.

Zach seemed to be the only one who didn't care about Olivia's powers. In fact, he seemed excited about them

"Oh dude, man. That is so cool. Do you think she'd give me to MegaLotto numbers for the week? That'd be totally sweet."

"Zach, you're under 18. You can't buy lottos. Besides they always investigate lotto winnings of supers in case something like that happens." Maj said, attempting to calm the glower down. The last thing they needed was for Zach to make an ass out of himself bumbling over to Olivia asking her to use her powers to make him rich.

"Well Warren, she had a run in with you. What's she like?" Zach asked the pyro excitedly.

Warren put down his book to pondering the question. He debated if he wanted to get into this conversation. He didn't like the feeling of her invading his mind and didn't want to admit he was slightly scared of her amber eyes. He couldn't deny running into her as it was obvious that they already knew. He decided he'd be as succinct as possible as he also knew Zach and the others wouldn't leave him alone unless he gave them something.

"Yeah, she shoved me because she thought I was someone else."

That was the part they already knew about. Warren confirmed that perhaps Olivia wasn't the best psychic out there since she didn't seem to have any kind of sense of self-preservation with it came to dangerous males.

"Ohh emm gee dude, we saw that guy too. Totally looks like you."

Warren just gave a dirty look to Zach in response. The glower cowered a bit under the pyro's glare but was pretty used to Warren's looks.

"He's right over there if you want to see for yourself." Layla pointed out Baden as to save Zach from himself.

Warren looked over to see who they were talking about and there was a male who was tall and had dark hair. That was all the likeness Warren could see.

"He so does not look that much like me."

"What? He could totally be your twin."

Zach really needed to learn the art of knowing when to stop talking.

Warren didn't want to discuss it any further as he couldn't see why people could ever mistake him and that pretty boy. He aggressively reopened his book and silently told them without words that the discussion was over.

Lunch was over before they knew it and at least it seemed lunch time was the same as Val: Way too short.

"So I guess I'll be seeing you around?" Olivia said hopefully. It was time for the Sky High buddies to actually go to class and leave the Val kids to their fate. It was more or less the same thing going to happen and then a quick orientation to give them their new class schedules based on where they were placed, then all they syllabi and required materials for classes.

"Yeah. I'll see you around."

Both smiled and they walked away from each other.

The Val kids trudged back to the gym knowing it was going to be as painful as before. This was not the way things were done at Val and it hurt most of the student's pride to be categorized as a Sidekick. Dom was getting sympathetic stares from the fellow Val students as they knew he was part of the Elite Program and his placement had to hurt the most. They were in the regular Hero track, but to be Elite and called a Sidekick? That was a low blow and they wondered what the group was planning in order to get their rightful places back. Knowing Olivia and Emma as they did it would be probably be a "shock and awe" attack that Sky High would never forget.

Others did not have such a generous view on things. One girl in particular, Lori Abrams, was glad to see the Elite knocked down a few pegs. They always strutted around Valhalla as if they owned the place and at Sky High they wouldn't be allowed to do the same. She was especially excited to see where Olivia was placed. The clairvoyant was sure to be a Sidekick if Boomer's pattern kept up. While Lori herself was deemed a Sidekick she was fine with it. She had no intention of going through all the hassles of becoming a Hero. Let others get hurt and play The Commander. All she wanted to do was get a nice cushy Sidekick desk job where all she had to do was call in emergencies and stay a safe distance away from the action. Then marry a nice wealthy suitor and never have to work again.

She was disappointed when Emma turned out to be placed in the Hero track as Lori hated her the most. Uppity little chit thought she could get whatever she wanted and all the adults fawned over her. Emma also always managed to beat her at every election. Lori had yet to find a way to get one over the time bender but she was hopeful it would be in the form of Baden. Every girl in school wanted him, except for Olivia and Lori had no idea why. The guy was gorgeous but Lori assumed the psychic thought she was too good for Baden. Lori always thought that Olivia came off as haughty because of her rich parents. She seethed in envy when she found out the clairvoyant not only got a sweet car but a flying one as well. No other student could boast they had a flying car and jealousy was not a good look on Lori. Still, Emma was included in Baden's fan club so she was sure to nab the healer before the time bender could.

An evil smile crept on her face as she saw the Elite group walk to the gym in despair.

"_This is goin' to be good_."

The second half of Power Placement went as predicated. It was painstakingly long and torturous. It was bad enough they had to go onto a stage, it was even worse when judgment happened in front of other students.

Kerry and Jonah both made Sidekick as Boomer was not impressed with ability to breathe in any environment and the ability to communicate via radio waves respectively.

This just proved even more to Olivia that Boomer was just a short sighted unimaginative bonehead who would be totally lost and die if he ever had to confront a villain with no powers. This was obviously poor planning on his part because it's not as if villains weren't known to figure out ways to make supers powerless. Val had a freaking detention room that neutralized powers and she was sure that Sky High had one too. If they didn't then they were even more unequipped to handle super teens than she thought. If the technology was out there then a villain could find a way to exploit that.

"_Jeez no wonder he never made it to the big leagues_."

After several others were judged, Boomer finally started to wind down his list. They weren't sure why he called out in the order he did because it certainly wasn't alphabetical. Next up on the chopping block was:

"Lyndsey Chary"

Olivia got a sick feeling in her stomach as her former friend walked up to the stage and stood right next to Boomer. It was times like these that she wished she wasn't psychic and that she could un-know things she knew. The truth that no one else could see was so glaringly obvious to her. Olivia wished she was anywhere but at the gym.

It was awkward as hell to see Lyndsey try and speak to the coach. Her shyness was apparent and Boomer wasn't making things easier on the black girl.

"Well? I'm waiting."

"I…I…can…" Lyndsey stuttered out. Her heart raced and she felt sick with all the people looking at her. She knew she was on the spot but her voice wouldn't work. She willed her tongue to unloosen and just spit out what she could do. She knew she had powers, she'd have them since eighth grade but the words were stuck in her throat.

"You can what?" Boomer asked meanly, losing his patience.

"Jesus Christ, give her a moment." Olivia bit out, surprising even herself. While she didn't respect Lyndsey it didn't mean she would tolerate Boomer being a complete jackass to a girl so obliviously scared.

Lyndsey didn't appreciate Olivia's intervention. Lyndsey felt she looked like couldn't stand up for herself and it was totally humiliating. She was angry that she was so shy and that it inhibited her life as such and that Olivia, of all people, had to interfere.

Olivia felt the vibe of anger coming from Lyndsey and berated herself for even trying.

"_Ugh, I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut. It's a total waste of time ever trying to help her._"

Boomer had taken to ignoring Olivia; he'd get to her in a second.

"Don't have all day Chary, I'm not going to bite ya. Just spit it out, what can you do?" Boomer said just as abrasively as before.

"I can manipulate the electro-chemical make-up of the body."

"Say again?"

"She can manipulate hormones and neurotransmitters, brain trust." Dom said sardonically.

Boomer had enough of these kid's bad attitudes and decided to exert his authority.

"You." he pointed at Dom "Out of my gym. Principal's office. Now." Was all he said.

Dom petulantly grabbed his stuff and headed out of the doors of the gym in a huff. He was just as tired of Boomer and it did not bode well for the rest of the day.

Boomer went back to contemplating where to place Lyndsey. It was a formidable power and he remembered where he heard the name Chary before.

"Is your mom Passionique?"

Lyndsey dropped her eyes and sheepishly nodded yes. She hated when her mother was brought up, especially her mother's Hero persona. She was always compared to her mother and then it led people to assume that Lyndsey would use her powers like Passionique. While she loved her mother she kind of wish she could live down Janet Chary's more flirtatious reputation.

Boomer softened a bit towards the girl because he knew her mother from a long time ago. Now that he was really looking at her, he could really see the resemblance. Everything about Lyndsey's face was exactly like her mother's; from her high cheekbones to her mocha complexion; except her eyes. Her eyes were a clear russet topaz that seemed familiar but he couldn't quite place it. He shrugged it off as her father was probably another super that he'd also met. Now remembering her mother's ability and knowing Lyndsey had the same power, he was aware of what it could do with a little bitterness.

"Hero."

Olivia's teeth clenched so hard in anger she couldn't be surprised if she stress fractured a few. This was an injustice in the highest proportion. While she didn't want to see Lyndsey humiliated, she also didn't want to see the hormone manipulator succeed where she was sure to fail. She knew Lyndsey's track record and knew the girl didn't deserve to be called Hero. Lyndsey's powers weren't even close to being developed due to fear of using her powers.

Olivia started to breath heavily due to the frustration and did everything in her power to keep her cool. She now knew the overwhelming anger that Dom felt when they knew that a grave injustice had occurred. Olivia was now more determined than ever to set things right, she couldn't stand to see Lyndsey given something freely when Olivia had worked over three years and counting for.

Lyndsey skittered offstage and bewildered at the decision. She was secretly pleased she had obtained Hero as it raised her standing within the school and got a little bit of pleasure out of seeing Olivia's outrage. It wasn't so clear to the normal person as Olivia had trained herself to keep her cool but her eyes were a dead giveaway along with the tension in her jaw. Olivia's eyes all but blazed the eerie bright yellow of a pissed off psychic.

"Olivia Viridian"

It was finally Olivia's turn and she knew what was going to happen. She had a sickening sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach when she knew she about to get bad news. She was seething with anger over the whole process and she was going to make sure Boomer paid for this.

Boomer slightly flinched at the girl's eyes. They were intensely focused on him and he'd never seen such eyes before. Swirling molten ocher shone brightly under dark lashes and he started to sweat a little. What kind of powers did this girl have?

Before Boomer even had the chance to ask for her powers she curtly said "Psychic: Clairvoyant with an emphasis on psychometry."

Boomer just stared at her blankly. What was with these kids that they had to explain their powers in the most complicated way possible?

Seeing that Boomer still didn't understand what her powers were except for the psychic part she dumbed it down a bit.

"I can perceive information on people, things, and locations through extra-sensory perception. I'm particularly talented at gaining that information through touch."

While he didn't like her snooty attitude he now understood what her powers were. Psychics were always tricky to place because there was no way of knowing how their powers would evolve. It was a very volatile power and it had its bad history. He decided he needed a little more information in order to make the decision.

"Can you only garner information or can you do any physical damage to someone?"

That was a very personal question that Olivia knew she had to choose her words carefully. It was never a good idea to reveal too much and she hesitated to answer at all. She knew her placement was in jeopardy but also thought that it wouldn't matter because Boomer had a bias towards certain powers so she wasn't sure that whatever answer she gave would do anything.

"No _physical_ damage."

Boomer didn't seem to notice her emphasis on "physical" and neither did the crowd. That was the effect she wanted to have. It's best to keep people in the dark about what exactly she could do in order to avoid suspicion since it was very obvious certain people, "_Stronghold_" held prejudice against psychics.

He made up his mind then and there. What good was her power if she couldn't hurt the enemy?

"Sidekick"

She knew that the ruling was coming but it still hurt to hear it. To think that three years of training meant nothing was not something she could wrap her head around.

She felt the pity from her fellow students and that was not something she could stand for either. She was not someone to be pities because even though she was down for now she wouldn't be forever.

She was also incensed at the smug and self-satisfied feelings come off of Lyndsey and Lori.

"_Lori. That white trash bitch_."

Obviously Lori was just envious and had been for a really long time. Olivia always ignored her because Lori was about as useful as tits on snake. The girl had no ambition what so ever other than marrying the first rich guy to come along. Olivia knew this about Lori which was why she never invited the girl to anything because she was nothing but a moocher.

Olivia really couldn't believe Lyndsey would have the gall to be any type of arrogant and she placated herself knowing that if given the chance Lyndsey would fail spectacularly in any kind of confrontation. The biokinetic was afraid of mild confrontation between her and someone she didn't like, such as never being in the same room as Olivia if she could help it. There was no way she'd be able to fight off an attack. Olivia smiled slightly to herself because it would become abundantly clear who the real Hero material was and who wasn't.

So she waved cordially to Lyndsey and gave a big smile to Lori. Both girl's over inflated feeling of confidence started to diminish because no good could come from a happy Olivia who had felt she had been slighted. They had no idea what the psychic was thinking or planning but Lyndsey knew it couldn't be good.

The bell rang indicating it was time to get their class schedules and really start Sky High. 


	10. Chapter 10

**All recognizable Sky High characters, places, and events belong to Disney and its affiliates. I am making no money from this endeavor. As for any original content: Any likeness, similarities, and resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, and events are unintentional and purely coincidental.**

**If anyone wishes to volunteer to beta this fic, feel free to contact me.**

The rest of the school day went by in a blur. Half of the Val students were too busy being very angry and incredulous about their fate. Getting their class schedules put the final nail in the coffin of their denial. They were no longer in Valhalla and they were indeed Sidekicks. It was a whole new ballgame and they were not sure of the rules.

The first day of school was usually the easiest, work wise. The teachers went over the syllabus and their expectations for the year. The students also got a list of required supplies and other things they didn't care about. They couldn't wait for the end of the day.

It was very apparent to most other students that Olivia was not paying attention to any of the teachers in any of the Sidekick classes. She figured out right away it would be a waste of time; not only where they on a slower course than Heroes, but overall behind any class taught at Valhalla. Olivia scoffed at the curriculum as did the other Val students who were on the Hero track that were placed as a Sidekick.

They really hoped that it was a great plan to get them out of their situation that Olivia was writing furiously in her notebook. It couldn't be what the teachers were saying because the teachers were not saying anything that required note taking.

She had on her trademark pokerface as she didn't want others to know what she was up to. If she didn't concentrate then it'd be very obvious that she plotting the demise of Coach Boomer and the general Sky High system. She didn't want to let them in on it too soon. She knew her fellow Vals knew she was up to something. Living in the same dorms and going to school for three years got them very familiar with each other. Normally it was to Olivia's advantage to let them fear her as she was notorious for getting things her way. This time they were not opting to try to thwart her efforts as her triumph over the system was their triumph. She wasn't too worried about the ones assigned to Hero class undeservedly as they weren't the type to know a nefarious plot if it bit them on the ass. Still she kept a sensor out for possible narcs, such as Lyndsey or Lori, because it would be foolish of her to get to comfortable and careless.

"_Never underestimate your enemy_."

It was one of the first things she learned in the Elite program. Just because someone looked weak or helpless, it didn't mean they were. It was pounded into her head and she knew who her enemies were. She had a clear and decisive list of those she needed to punish.

Coach Boomer

Lyndsey

Baden

Lori

Boomer was obvious but her fellow Val students were more of her vindictive need to win. She wasn't about to let the three Val students think they had somehow gotten one over her. Their punishment would not be as severe as Boomer's but Olivia felt they needed to know their place; even if they weren't at Val anymore they couldn't run from who they were. And Lyndsey and Baden were not Heroes. Lori was just a bitch so punishing her was more for funsies.

Most of her writing had been of the violent variety and she knew she couldn't stoop that low no matter how badly she wanted to. She was far more advanced than any of them due to her extensive training. Despite her need to punish them, she could actually physically hurt that and that's not what she wanted…in the end. For now she was happy plotting their demise but sooner or later she'd have to do some real planning.

The final bell rang and she was glad as hell to be out of there. It was a rough first day and she knew it would be a rough few weeks till she was able to not only figure something out but put her plan into action.

Annoyance radiated off of her thinking she'd actually have to deal with being a Sidekick for that long.

"_Ugh being a Sidekick. It sounds like the worst thing ever; especially here where everyone has no respect for them_."

Her train of thought was interrupted by the time she got to her car. A sigh of relief escaped her chest as her beloved Camaro came into view. Its cherry red finish glittered in the bright summer sun. Wouldn't be a lot more of those soon and she thought of all the different kinds of maintenance she'd had to go once fall and winter hit. Then she realized she was no longer in D.C. with its seasons. She was now in the more stable climate of Southern California.

Today was full of bitter revelations that she was not in her element. She was in a foreign land where the rules were much different than the one she was used to.

She saw Dom sitting on the school steps and jogged over towards him. He was starting at the teacher parking lot. He had a severe look on his face and Olivia didn't need her powers to know he was still upset about being placed in Sidekick class.

"_I'm going to give him till tomorrow to stew in his own self-pity and then I'll kick his ass out of it_."

"What'cha doin?"

Dom's sulking look turned into an evil smile and she knew that smile She loved that smile because it meant someone was about to get punked.

"Ohhh, what did you do?"

He only nodded towards the innocuous dark blue sedan in the distance.

"Is that…," Olivia let the question fade off, in case they were being listened in on. If Dom's shenanigans were revealed to the administration, Olivia could at least plead reasonable deniability. If she didn't say Boomer's name then technically no one could say she was in on the prank. Dom nodded and his mischievous smile just got bitter.

"CYBTAAA?" she inquired.

Again, Dom was smart enough not to say anything out loud and let events unfold as they may. He merely shook his head "no" and Olivia was eager to see what he did.

They didn't have to wait long because the teachers, at least Boom and Medulla, hated being at school just as much as the students did. So the two teachers made a bee line for their vehicle.

"_Hmmm note to self: Medulla and Boomer carpool_."

The other members of their group joined the pair and asked the same questions, Dom answered the same way he did Olivia; evil smile and small head nods. It was evident the group was looking at something but most of the teenage students were too busy with their own worries to pay attention to the Val kids.

What Dom had done had made itself apparent when Boom pulled out of his spot and hit his brakes. The loud screech of his horn blared from his car and the group couldn't help but burst out laughing. They were especially tickled by the bewildered look on Boomer's face as the sound resounded out. He kept hitting his breaks and the horn sounded. The other students walking around were giving him death glares because they thought he was being his usual obnoxious self by honking at them for no reason.

"Oh my god, attaching the horn to the breaks. Classic," Olivia finally said after controlling herself from the bouts of laughter.

Boomer had finally parked his car and got out to check out what was wrong.

"Shit, he's out of his car. Let's bounce before he sees us laughing at him."

The group took her advice and scattered. Most of them went towards the bus terminals and Olivia went to her car to wait for Emma and Carl.

She didn't have to wait long for Carl because he did not like Sky High as well. Olivia wasn't sure what his attitude was because she was sure that he would have made Hero.

"What's with the cranky pants, Carl? Don't tell me Boomer put you in Sidekick class."

"No! I made Hero but he put Katie as a Sidekick. Guy is such a jerk!"

Olivia turned away and rolled her eyes. Katie was his girlfriend so Olivia wasn't surprised at his attitude. She wasn't very fond of the Coach but at least she kept her cool. If Carl was at Valhalla he would be taught how to keep his temper under pressure. His sister wasn't very good at it but the time bender usually kept it all together for a battle. Still, Olivia didn't have much sympathy for the lovelorn teenager and there was no guarantee that Katie would have made it into the Elite program anyway if they were still at Valhalla. Carl had a sibling in the program and it was expected of him to join as well. He was also not guaranteed a spot but Olivia had high expectations for him.

As far as Olivia was concerned, Katie was a flaky brat with an overbearing Jesus freak mother but Carl seemed to like her so Olivia kept her mouth shut.

They both waited for Emma and as usual, the time bender was late. Olivia's phone vibrated and she checked it.

**Emma: Got 2 stay late 4 meeting. Leave w/o me. **

"Okay, amigo. Ems staying behind and we're heading out."

She unlocked her Camaro and Carl hopped in but Olivia paused. She saw that Lash was in line for the buses and he had a defeated sag to his shoulders. She knew that he did not have the best first day and he was glad that it was almost over. She reached out her powers and felt the hostility of those onboard. She ran over to him to offer him a ride because she was sure that she'd be much better company.

She ignored Carl's obnoxiously loud questions of where she was going and went to the object of her affection. Before Lash noticed that she was there she gave herself another pep talk.

"_You can do this. You're looking hot in hot ass boots that hurt like hell. He smiled at you when you sat with him at lunch. It's just an invite to drive him home. The worst thing he could do is say no_. _And he __**won't**__ say no because no one likes taking the bus when they can drive in a totally BAMF car. _"

Before Lash got onto the bus and was sure to be a hellish ride home, he felt someone tap his shoulder. It was Olivia and he wondered what she was doing in line for the bus. He knew that she had a flying Camaro, which he was totally envious of, so she shouldn't be in the bus area. She was smiling at him though and that made him smile. The bus ride didn't seem so bad anymore.

"Do you need a ride home?"

The question surprised him and he really wanted to say yes. He was hesitant though because he had told himself earlier that he wouldn't get too close to the girl; and getting rides home was definitely in the close friend territory. He didn't know why she was being so nice to him, other than his hope that she was as attracted to him as he was to her but he wasn't about to let himself go down that road.

Still his yearning for a friend could not go unanswered and he figured that being friends was alright. He was friends, sort of, with Penny and he never got any feelings for the multiplier. The same went for Gwen. He supposed that his last year at Sky High didn't have to be a miserable one.

"Sure. I'd really like that."

Lash then smiled at Olivia which made her smile even bigger. They both smiled at each other for an inordinate amount of time, long enough for one of the fellow Sky High students to say something obnoxious.

"Hey! Get on the bus or get out the line!"

This was from no name freshmen and Olivia flashed her yellow eyes at him. The freshman was smart enough to keep quiet and back away a bit. She powered down when looking at Lash because she did not want to freak him out.

"Anyway, my car is totally BAMF and way better than the bus. So good choice. Follow me."

She mentally berated herself for how lame she sounded. She kept her cool because she knew there was nothing she could do to take the words back. Something about Lash made her babble nonsense and she was nervous about talking but at the same time he didn't seem to mind.

Lash did as he was told and he could feel the eyes of the other students who were stuck on the bus and he was going with the cute new girl with a cool car. He got a little swell of pride at their jealous stares and the school year was definitely looking up.

Olivia could feel the hippy chick staring at her and the uncertainty rolling off the redhead but she did her best to ignore plant manipulator. She knew what Layla wanted and she was not in the mood to play Polly Protester.

The plant manipulator was not to be ignored though. Layla gathered up her courage and went straight for Olivia.

The psychic had to step back a bit because Layla's presence was an overwhelming sensation of sunshine and eagerness.

Layla had waited all afternoon to get in touch with Olivia. It was hard since the schedules were so different due to the different tracks but she was determined to speak to the clairvoyant. They couldn't waste any time if they were going to lead a revolution.

"Hey, Olivia!" Layla said with much enthusiasm. "I was wondering…"

"Hey Lays, I'm actually just about to leave and if I don't leave soon then I'll be caught behind all the buses on the take off lane," Olivia interrupted because Layla seemed the type to steam roll a conversation once she got going.

Layla was a bit disappointed but accepted Olivia's explanation, not knowing any better since she never had a flying car.

"Oh, that's ok. I totally understand. Do you mind giving me your number or getting mine? I would love to talk to you about some things."

Olivia didn't really want to but she couldn't say no without seeming like a douche or completely rude. So she gave in to Layla's request.

"Sure, my cell is 555-8604 and I'm on Facebook. So you can message me or something."

"Great! Have a safe flight!"

Layla gave a huge genuine smile and Olivia felt a little bad for blowing her off.

"_I'll make it up to her by actually talking to her later or something_."

The plant manipulator then skipped off to her group of friends and Olivia rolled her eyes at the cold look Will gave her. It seems that Layla's boyfriend was not too keen on his girlfriend being friends with a psychic.

"_Well now I have to befriend her_," she thought sarcastically.

She opened the door to her cherry red Camaro and saw that Carl was in the front seat.

"Freshmen ride in back."

"What?"

Carl was confused and mildly offended that he had to ride in back but then he saw Lash and rolled his eyes.

"Okay, whatever."

The sullen teen reluctantly gave up his spot and Lash at least looked a little apologetic but being as tall as he was, he was glad to get the roomier front seat. He was also glad to be next to Olivia although he was sure the freshman in the back was none too happy with him.

He watched in amazement as the seemingly ordinary car dash flipped and appeared all the knobs, switches, and screens that enabled the vehicle to fly. Olivia knew what she was doing because she expertly fiddled with all the contraptions and then they headed out of the parking lot.

"Sky High, this is Serenity; ready for takeoff. What's the ETA for the lane?"

Lash was confused for a minute because he wasn't sure who she was talking to but then noticed she had a Bluetooth headpiece on and figured she was talking to the Sky High flight control.

"Sweet, okay guys; we're third in line so we'll be leaving soon."

Olivia pulled behind a bus and waited their turn. The two buses in front of them didn't take long to take off and Lash started to sweat a bit because he realized he wasn't sure what kind of flyer Olivia would be. He knew she had to get a special license to be able to fly but he was slightly uncomfortable in her car with ordinary seat belts. In the buses they were criss-cross restraints and he felt a lot safer in them than he did at the moment.

His heart beat started to pick up as she accelerated and he suddenly got terrifying images of the car not flying as they went off the edge. Her car's engine was quieter than he expected and it made him worry all the more; as if her car wasn't powerful enough to fly.

They reached the point of no return as they went off the edge of the school and into the open empty sky. Lash had done his best to contain his momentary panic but it was obvious he was tense and if he held her door handle any tighter he would have broken it.

"It's ok Lash, you can relax now."

He was a little embarrassed that he did not come off as calm and collected as he wanted. When the car was still in the air and they weren't falling to their doom, he relaxed.

"Sorry," he said and smiled sheepishly.

Olivia thought he was too cute.

"It's okay; you should have heard Carl scream the first time I took him for a ride."

"Shut up Olivia! At least I don't need a pillow to see over the dashboard."

"Shut up Carl!"

Lash looked to Olivia's seat and Carl was right. She was sitting on a pillow to see over the dash board. He couldn't help the small snicker that escaped his mouth. Olivia looked scandalized and then proceeded to stick her tongue out at him. There was no malice in her eyes so he knew she wasn't angry for real.

"Okay, if you guys are going to talk shit about my driving pillow then I can let you off right here."

"Whatever, this is a Camaro. It doesn't open other than the doors and they automatically lock while in flight mode," Carl said in his most know-it-all voice, calling her bluff.

The two argued back and forth like they were siblings and Lash wondered why the freshman was in the car.

"Oh yeah? How about this?"

Olivia then proceeded to make the car go into a nose dive. Lash was scared out of his mind as they plummeted to the Earth. He let out a high pitched scream that he would later insist was more of a bellow.

"Oh my God, Olivia! Stop! I'm sorry!" Carl screamed, regretting his folly of forgetting Olivia was slightly insane.

The psychic accepted Carl's apology and straightened the vehicle.

"Heh heh heh," Olivia laughed evilly. "That's right you're sorry. Now what do we say?"

"You're totally awesome Olivia and I'm grateful for the ride." Carl repeated the words he knew by heart. He really needed to remember that Olivia wasn't afraid to put his life in danger to prove a point.

Olivia laughed at Carl again but somewhat regretted her actions as she saw how scared Lash wash. The elastic male was holding onto her car for dear life and not breathing.

"Sorry there guy, I forgot you're not quite used to my…humor."

"Huh…" he said, finally able to breathe again. "No, it's totally fine. I get it. It was totally funny…seeing my life flash before my eyes."

He tried to play it off but she already knew he was really scared. He let go of the car and tried to put on a manly façade.

"So anyway, cool car. Never been in one before."

"That's what he said," both Olivia and Carl simultaneously said. Lash was confused and it took him a minute to get the dirty joke. He relaxed significantly and laughed at the immature joke.

"Yeah, if you're going to hang with us then you're going to have to get used to that phrase," Olivia explained.

Lash did not have any problem with that. It seemed the group of friends were very chill and liked to joke around. They were his kind of people.

"Anyway, thanks. This car is my baby. So where am I dropping you off, btdubs?"

"Btdubs?"

"Heh yeah. Just my way of saying BTW. It might take you a while to get used to my vernacular…and I'm preppin' for the SATs so might throw in a vocabulary here and there."

"Heh, no it's chill. Ummm do you know where Elysium subdivision is?" 

"Yeah, actually that's where my family is staying. What street on you on?"

"Tian. Really? That's crazy. Small world."

Lash learned something about Olivia. If she lived in Elysium then she was definitely rich. Having a flying car was evidence of that but it could have been possible that her parents were well off or had connections. It wasn't uncommon that some middle class supers got perks every so often but if she was in his neighborhood then she was definitely from money. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was remembering something. Something about her name and how he knew it. It was still escaping him and he was very curious about his new friend.

"_I guess I have to google her or something. I'm pretty sure one of her parents is a well known Super_."

"Yeah, I'm staying on Neveah."

"Wait, do you own that huge mansion on the hill?"

"Well I don't but my parents do."

"Yeah that's what I meant. Dude I had always wanted to see that place. I remember when it was being built. It caused this huge home owner association uproar because it 'didn't match the Tudor aesthetic of the rest of the neighborhood.' How come we've never met before if you're parents own it?"

"Well it's more of a summer house and we just never stayed there a lot. I think we did like one summer when I was really little but that was it. And I think some of my brothers used it for mini vacations now and then. My parent's work is based out of D.C. and we have tons of family members that we visit elsewhere so there's no one place we visit annually except this one place in VA."

"Why did they build a whole new house then?" piped in Carl.

"You know why Carl, shut up."

Olivia didn't look comfortable at where the conversation went and Lash was polite enough not to ask further. He was still amazed at how things were turning out. His new found friend wasn't far from him and the school year was definitely looking up.

"Anyway, I always thought it looked neat." Lash steered the conversation back to safer topics.

"Yeah, my parents are these über hippies and designed the place to be as eco friendly as possible. Everything is reclaimed and it's designed to use the least amount of energy possible. It's pretty cool. You should…come over sometime and check it out."

Olivia hoped her invitation was understated and she wasn't coming off as desperate.

Lash quickly answered and told himself that he would dissect what it meant later. He didn't want to keep her waiting and then seem like he didn't want to be around her; which was the opposite of the truth.

"Sure, that sounds like it'd be cool."

They had finally landed on the safe zone right outside of Maxville and headed towards the suburb.

"Carl, where do you want me to drop you off?"

The teenager wasn't listening to her as he had put in his ear buds and looking out the window.

"Carl!"

Olivia's shouting had brought him out of his own little world and he quickly turned off his music.

"What?"

"Where am I dropping you off? The dorms or Katie's?"

"Umm drop me off at Katie's"

"Is her mom home?"

"Maybe"

Olivia didn't like Carl's uncertain tone or his shifty eyes.

"Maybe or yes?"

"…yes. It's the first day of school; she wants to know how Katie's day went and whatever."

"Then I'm dropping you off at the dorms."

"No come on, please? I might not see her till tomorrow."

"Oh noes! You won't see her till tomorrow? However shall you survive without your lady love?"

Carl did not appreciate the sarcasm.

"Carl, we've tried me dropping you off at her place while her mother was home. Remember what happened?"

Lash felt a little uncomfortable because he felt he was listening in on a family conversation and from Olivia's body language, she wasn't comfortable or willing to do as Carl asked. 

"_I wonder what happened_."

Lash was curious but knew to keep such personal questions to himself. He could see his grandmother telling him, "_Never ask personal questions with new company. Always wait for them to volunteer an explanation_."

"Fine" Carl finally admitted defeat albeit a bit petulantly. Olivia rolled her eyes but understood his predicament. He couldn't help if his girlfriend's mom was a bit of a religious freak.

They pulled up to The Tudor Rose, a bed and breakfast outside the Elysian subdivision. It was a huge Tudor mansion converted into a posh hotel. The exterior was painted a pale pink and had its signature roses in the stained glass windows. Lash remembered noticing the hotel had a lot more clients the past month but brushed it off as some convention. He didn't know it was where the displaced Val students were going to stay.

"_Makes sense, not every family could pack up and move across the country for the school year_." Lash rationalized to himself. Still, it was surprising because the popular bed and breakfast wasn't cheap and he getting more and more curious about Valhalla.

Lash got out of the front seat to let Carl out and the freshman left without much fuss. Before he got into the door Olivia called out, "Carl! Tell Ems to call me tonight."

Carl noncommittally nodded his head and went into the house.

Lash got into the car and Olivia drove into the gated community not far away.

"Sorry about that, I'm sure I sounded weird." Olivia admitted.

"No, it's cool. I mean, he can go a night without seeing his girlfriend," Lash tried to brush off the incident.

"Yeah, it's not like I'm not willing to drive him a mile down the way, it's just that Katie's mom is kind of a religious freak. Not really down psychics."

Lash understood then. Katie's mother was one of people who still had irrational intolerances towards certain Supers. Lash didn't understand it himself but psychics had a long history of contention within the Super community. There was also the sensitive subject of their treatment during WWII and he definitely wanted to steer away from that conversation.

"Sounds kind of crazy, so I totally understand why you wouldn't want to be near that."

Olivia smiled at Lash for understanding her position.

Olivia drove on the tree lined streets, weaving her way through the neighborhood. She and Lash made small conversation. Talked about their favorite movies (hers the Lost Boys, his The Crow) and all too soon they were at his house.

It was a nice Tudor style mansion that matched the rest of the neighborhood. The doorway was arched and there were t-shaped inlays under the steep gables. The slate grey met at sharp triangular points and gave a semi-gothic feel. It was a solid tasteful mansion with a beautiful front yard. A brick path led up to the front door where a middle aged woman with sable colored hair was waiting.

"_Shit, parent_."

Olivia liked Lash but she was nowhere ready to meet one of his parents, even if she was just in the friend stage. Parents were tricky at times, especially when they found out her power. She decided that she would let Lash tell his parents she was psychic, as she was sure his mother would ask who drove him home.

"_Shit, my mom_"

Lash did not know the protocol for this situation. He never brought a girl home…not that this was bringing a girl home, she was giving him a ride so he was double unsure of what to do. Olivia got him off the hook though because she was just as disinclined to meet his mother as he was.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow"

"Yeah, thanks for the ride. BTdubs…" Lash said and cracked a smile. Olivia laughed because it sounded so stilted from him.

"No probs…I am on Facebook so message me if you want a ride to school in the morn."

"_Okay, that was subtle. Not too forward and it's Facebook so that's a nice safe approach. Next step will be giving him my number_."

"Cool. I'll probably friend you tonight…or something."

Olivia really hoped she didn't look like an idiot with the smile on her face. Neither Super seemed willing to make the first move to go away and they just smiled at each other. Olivia saw who she assumed was Lash's mom come towards the street and she took that as her cue to leave. Olivia gave one last small wave good-bye and she was off.

Lash watched her go till her car disappeared around the corner.

When Lash was out of sight and she came to the first stop sign, Olivia gave a small victory squeal and did an in place victory dance.

When she finally calmed down she did a cursory scan of her surroundings and was very glad no one was there to see her embarrassing display.

"I'm not a big goofy crushing loser if no one saw it," she told herself and drove home.


	11. Chapter 11

**All recognizable Sky High characters, places, and events belong to Disney and its affiliates. I am making no money from this endeavor. As for any original content: Any likeness, similarities, and resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, and events are unintentional and purely coincidental.**

**If anyone wishes to volunteer to beta this fic, feel free to contact me.**

Olivia turned onto her private street and drove up a slight hill to get to her house. The eco mansion definitely did not match the rest of the old style neighborhood. The environmentally friendly home was very modern with its square boxy architecture and huge windows throughout. She parked in the separate garage and headed towards the main house. She casually grabbed a ripe apple from the tree growing near the front door.

She entered her bright home and breathed in the fresh air provided by the indoor garden and various plants throughout the house. Olivia's mother was cooking in the kitchen and decided to avoid the inevitable questions of how her first day of school went till dinner time. She made a beeline for her room but noted the delicious smells coming from the kitchen.

"_Oooo she's making sinegong and ribs. My favs_. _I wonder if she already knows I've had a rough day._"

It wouldn't be a too far off assumption since her mother, like her, was psychic.

Olivia's room was very girly. It was done in a tasteful teal blue and the canopy bed with heavy curtains dominated the room in the center. The thick duvet was royal blue with a white floral pattern and had a mountain of matching pillows.

The first thing she did was get out of the hellacious heels she was wearing.

"These things make me look hot but they are not worth the foot torture."

Olivia then threw them in her closet and said goodbye to them for a while. Her aching feet loved the soft luxurious bamboo fiber carpet.

She quickly went to her computer and logged on. The first page she opened up was Facebook and she told herself she wasn't disappointed that Lash hadn't friended her in the five minutes it took her to get home from his house. She knew it would have been weird if he did friend her in that short amount of time but she was eager, if only to admit to herself, to check out his page.

She looked up his page and like her, he only gave access to friends and she was even more keen for him to friend her. She contemplated friending him herself but decided that because she asked him to friend her she couldn't make the initial move. Her irrational logic and pride prevented her from doing what she thought was too much too soon.

"He's not a complete weirdo so he'll friend you in his time…which might be a lot later but it doesn't mean anything. Facebook is not the end all be all of friendship."

She knew what she told herself was true but a part of her also knew that as a teenager, her whole social life revolved around the social network and that it was a bevy of useful information.

"Okay, I refuse to obsess about Facebook stalking him so I'm going to do my homework."

The only homework she had was from Medulla and in the grand tradition of douche bag teachers, actually gave homework on the first day.

Unfortunately the assignment was only to read the first couple of chapters and answer the questions about the reading. She was done within the hour and she still had at least another half hour till dinner. She didn't want to come out of her room in fear she'd be bombarded with questions she didn't want to answer. She also didn't want to moon over the cute boy she met with an awesome smile and had a good sense of humor. She went over their interactions for the day, analyzing it piece by piece. She grimaced at her nose dive and wished in retrospect that she hadn't. He wasn't used to the way she messed around and she was afraid that she came off as crazy rather than a little eccentric and cute. She grabbed a pillow and tried to smother herself a bit but it didn't work. She had to just live with the embarrassment that she made a faux pas and to remember to not scare the living out of him next time. She told herself she would be the best driver out there and worried that he wouldn't want a ride the next morning because of her shenanigans.

Olivia then remembered the smile he gave her when she left and she was reduced to a happy goo puddle. He really did have a nice smile and she loved when he smiled at her.

In her crush induced haze she absentmindedly looked over to her closet door and on it was a black t-shirt with a silver metallic design; it was a Viking war hammed surrounded by feathered wings. Reality set in and she remembered the less than stellar aspects of Sky High. Cute boys aside, the school did not have much to offer and she needed to rectify her situation. She was hoping she would get help from her parents but knew she had to choose her words carefully. Her parents were not the type to listen to her complain about something and then do whatever it took to make it go away. She knew she would have to make it seem like it was necessary for their intervention and she thought it would be. She didn't think that Sky High was prone to making radical changes on the advice of a teenager, especially since she wasn't sure what changes needed to be brought.

She suddenly felt a slight pressure on her brain and a general feeling that she ought to go towards the kitchen. She knew it was her mother prodding her to come to the dinner table. Olivia went straight away she was trying to curry favor and it would not bode well for her to ignore her mother's call.

She got there and the table was spread with some of her favorites. Besides the sour peasant soup and ribs there was fresh lumpia and puto. She took out her phone, snapped a pic, and then sent it to her brothers with the caption:

**Looks wats 4 dinner suckas!**

She quickly put her phone on silent and away when she saw the look her mother gave her for having it at the table. But did laugh a little when she figured out what Olivia was doing. It was family tradition to take the piss out of each other on a daily basis.

After saying grace, they all dug in and Olivia was sure her parents would initiate the conversation.

"So how was school today?"

Bingo.

"Awful and totally unfair, the school is retarded" Olivia said candidly.

Her parents didn't seem totally surprised and it was because they expected a bit of a culture shock.

"What happened?" her father asked.

"I was unjustly assigned to Sidekick. Their…"

"Well, it's probably because you didn't train all summer," her father cut in seriously.

Olivia was shocked into silence. She couldn't believe her father just said that and assumed it was her fault that she didn't make Hero. It was true that she didn't do the rigorous training that Val usually insisted upon but it wasn't like she totally slacked off. Anger grew inside of her because she felt like her dad wasn't even giving her a chance to explain what happened.

"What? NO, that is not it at all. They have this totally messed up system where they pick Hero and Sidekick on the **first** day. They…"

"Olivia, you're at a new school. You can't expect them to treat you like they would at Valhalla. You might have been Elite there but you're not there anymore. You can't expect them to automatically give you Hero. You have to abide by their rules," her mother said.

Olivia felt like screaming because they weren't giving her a chance to tell her side of the story. She did her best to keep her calm but the frustrating day at school was compounded by her parent's lack of support.

"No. Mom, dad they pick based solely on powers. They didn't even give me a chance to show what I could do. They put me in Sidekick class because I'm psychic and the douche bag teacher doesn't think it'll handle against more offensive powers."

"Did the teacher specifically say that ?"

"Yeah, he said that certain powers wouldn't be able to go against others."

"He used those exact words?"

"Well no, he said that someone who could turn into a guinea pig couldn't fight someone…ok I forget his exact words but it's obvious what he meant."

"Olivia, you've only been there a day. I'm sure the teacher knows what he's doing. Have you seen the Sky High kids fight?"

"No," she sulkily admitted.

Olivia did not like where this conversation was heading, mostly because it was not going her way.

"Then how do you know you'll be able to hold yourself against their students? Could it be possible that their program is so intensive that certain powers are needed to be able to compete?"

"That's not fair, at Val…"

"You're not at Val, Olivia and life isn't fair," her mother said sternly. She knew she had to be firm with Olivia or her daughter would push the subject all night. "I know at Valhalla they teach you how to fight and that everyone deserves a chance to prove that they deserve to be a Hero but Sky High has different rules that you must abide by. You are a guest at their school. I suggest you give the school a chance before you do anything rash."

Olivia held back the fight waiting to explode from her but she knew better than to fight with her parents when she could clearly see they were taking the schools side. Embarrassment crept into her cheeks as she realized her mistake: she approached them too soon because she was not prepared at all. Although she loathed admitting it, her mother made a very good point. She didn't know the abilities of the Sky High students. They could very well surpass her own capabilities and it was foolish to assume that she could handle herself against unknown opponents. It was a freshmen mistake and she could hear Sgt. Williams tearing her a new one for being so proud.

"_Pride goes before the fall_"

Olivia dropped the subject and plans raced through her mind to get her way by some other venue. She was still angry thought because it felt that her parents were against her.

Her parents were glad their daughter didn't push the subject but a part of them were disappointed that she made Sidekick. They were confident that eventually she would prove herself and be made Hero at some other time. They too thought of what they would need to do once she got back to Valhalla. A lot could happen in a school year and they didn't want her to fall so far behind that she wouldn't be able to graduate the Elite program.

"_Perhaps I need to make a few phone calls just to see what is going on_," thought Cistena Viridian. She didn't want Olivia to use her as a crutch; she wanted her daughter to be able to fix her own problems. It might seem harsh and that she wasn't supportive of her daughter but that was the cost of raising children at times. Olivia might not be able to see it but she had her daughter's best interest at heart.

Cistena could feel that her daughter was in turmoil over the situation but determined and that was what she wanted. Olivia was also angry and felt betrayed. Cistena knew it was a typical teenage over reaction and her daughter would get over it in time. She was sure that Olivia would come up with something to fix the situation and make the best of her stay at Sky High.

Now that the school issue had been settled, there was something she wanted to question Olivia about what she read off her daughter earlier.

"Sky High can't be all bad, can it? You were pretty happy when you came home."

Olivia knew her mom knew what was going on; her mom just wanted her to admit to it. It was a game that psychics played a lot. They acted dumb and let people volunteer information. There was no point in keeping secrets in the family so Olivia was honest.

"Just this boy I gave a ride home. He's really cute and I plan on pursuing him romantically."

"A boy, huh?" Aric Viridian gravely asked. He dreaded conversations like this. They were further proof his little girl was growing up and he wasn't quite prepared for that.

"Yeah, he's a senior. He lives a couple blocks over too."

That was even worse. There was a boy in the picture that was older and lived closed by. Aric did not like this new school one bit.

"Well, sweetheart this was a lovely meal but I need to go clean my gun collection now."

Aric then kissed his wife and daughter goodbye while he brooded in his man cave.

"While you're father is being over dramatic we can have some girl chat."

Olivia smiled at her family's dynamic and her dad's reaction at the mention of a boy. She hoped that he wouldn't actually threaten Lash if he ever came to the house but she knew that he acted crazy because he loved her. She did make a note to herself to change the locks on the gun safe when Lash did come around. Aric wasn't kidding when he said he go and clean his guns. He was an avid hunter and in the NRA so he had a big collection.

"So what's his name and what does he look like?"

"His name is Lash and he's totally cute. He's really tall and has this mop of brown hair that is adorbs on him."

"Can I see?"

Olivia nodded her head and she reached out her hand, palm up, to her mother. Cistena placed her own plan on her daughters and both psychics' eyes glowed matching amber. She got a quick glance at Lash from Olivia's memories. Olivia quickly took her hand away because she didn't want to reveal too much to her mom.

Olivia liked Lash but she wasn't blind to his colorful history. She didn't want her parents to hate him out the gate and she didn't want to press the issue because she just met him. Cistena was a bit suspicious at Olivia's quick with drawl but let it slide. Her daughter was entitled to keep things to herself and she knew that the truth would come out eventually. She brushed it off as some silly teenage reason.

"I think he's a bit goofy looking. You have weird taste in boys."

"Ugh!" Olivia huffed out offended but the smile on her face betrayed her. "Whatever, dad's goofy looking."

The two females giggled and Olivia was glad her mother didn't press further into her mind. She'd tell them eventually about Lash's past but she wanted to make sure something was there worth fighting for before her parents tried to dissuade her from dating her. She wasn't even sure that Lash wanted to date her anyway so it might be a moot point.

Mother and daughter talked the rest of dinner of boys and other such things.


	12. Chapter 12

**All recognizable Sky High characters, places, and events belong to Disney and its affiliates. I am making no money from this endeavor. As for any original content: Any likeness, similarities, and resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, and events are unintentional and purely coincidental.**

**If anyone wishes to volunteer to beta this fic, feel free to contact me.**

Lash watched Olivia go and he couldn't keep the goofy smile off his face. He turned and his mother and he could tell she was dying to ask him who Olivia was. He wasn't about to make it that easy for her.

"Hey mom," he greeted her with a kiss.

She smiled at him and expectantly waited for him to talk about his day. She wasn't sure what she expected when he came home but it definitely wasn't the smile he was sporting. She was eager to find out what made him so happy.

He laughed at her enthusiastic face and headed into the house. She followed him with a small frown as he was not cooperating with her silent commands to spill his guts.

Lash headed straight to the kitchen because he was starving. It had been a whole four hours since lunch and he felt like he hadn't eaten in years. He ate that way as well because he rummaged through the fridge and cabinets; pulling food from everywhere he looked.

His mother would always be amazed, and slightly jealous, at the amount of food her son could eat and never seem to gain any weight. As Lash chowed down he still remained stubbornly silent.

He loved to torture his mother this way but at least she seemed excited for him. He couldn't say the same about his day at Sky High but he was glad to come home to a welcoming face.

His mother finally lost her patience and asked him, "How was your day? Who was that girl who drove you home?"

"My day was…meh," Lash shrugged his shoulders noncommittally. "Her name's Olivia…she's a new girl at school."

"Oh is she one of the transfers from the other school?"

"Yeah"

"Is she nice?"

"Yeah"

Melanie Sandvig was getting frustrated with her son's mono-syllabic answers and getting information from teenagers was like pulling teeth. Before she could interrogate him further he was on his way to his room after wolfing down all the snacks.

"_I guess I need to go grocery shopping again. I swear we run out of food every three days_."

She wasn't mad; in fact she was slightly glad the food was disappearing. It meant that her son was home and she was happy about that above all things.

Lash stayed in his room till dinner. He didn't have much else to do other than homework and fret about the proper timeframe from when meeting someone and then friending them on Facebook. He hated the social networking site because people stressed its importance way beyond what it should be but he needed it now. He wanted to check out Olivia's profile but she had thwarted his plans because her page was blocked to everyone who wasn't her friend. She just dropped him off so he didn't want to friend her too soon.

"_Yeah, I don't want to come off as a total creeper_."

He wanted to play it cool so he decided he would friend her before he went to bed. That way it would seem like he didn't think about it too hard but was still willing to be her friend.

It made sense in his head.

His mom called him for dinner and it saved him more unnecessary obsessing about his Facebook conundrum.

He was glad dinner was ready because he was famished and the meatloaf smelled really good.

"This looks awesome, mom."

"Thanks sweetie."

Jake Sandvig had entered the dining room and Lash tensed at the presence of his father. They never quite got along and it had been made worse by in incarceration. Jake had kissed his wife but had yet to acknowledge Lash.

Melanie seemed oblivious to the tension in the room, she was too happy that her family was together and having dinner.

Lash and his father ate in silence but Melanie could not take the cold tension in the room.

"So, Lash met a girl today."

This news did not pique Jake the way his wife wanted it to. A slight blush reddened Lash's face because he really didn't want to talk about Olivia, especially not in front of his father.

"A girl? I don't think Lash needs to be getting involved with some girl. I remember the last ones weren't such a good…influence on him."

Lash clenched his jaw at his father's implication and he really didn't want to get into another fight about his days as a genuine villain.

"It's not like that. She's just a friend."

"Gwen and Penny were just friends and look how that turned out."

Melanie was troubled at how her son and husband fought. All she wanted was a nice family dinner and she tried to calm the situation down.

"Why don't you tell us more about Olivia…that's her name right?"

"Yeah…she's a transfer from Valhalla. I don't know that much about her, I just met her."

"What family is she from?"

Of course his dad would want to know if she came from a "respectable" Super family. Lash glared at his father for the obnoxious question but he answered all the same.

"Viridian, it's not a Super name I don't think."

Lash knew it wasn't because he looked up the name in the Super wiki page that only Supers had access to. It meant that Olivia only had one Super parent and her powers probably came from her mother. Something else they had in common.

"It's not. You don't mean she's Aric Viridian's daughter do you?"

"I don't know. What does that matter?" Lash didn't like that it seemed his father knew something he didn't.

"Aric Viridian, as in the founder and CEO of Viridian Dynamic? The biggest research and development firm in the world as well as manufacturing the most domestic goods in America. Pretty much all of our kitchen is Viridian. All of your mother's stuff in the Super Center is Viridian. How can you not know this?"

Lash didn't know this because he never really paid attention. The kitchen appliances where just there and his mom cooked his food so he never bothered to learn the name of where they came from. He had only been in his mom's lair a couple of times and he, like with the appliances, never asked where the technology came from. For all her knew, the appliances came with the house and the technology came out of thin air. He wouldn't know a Viridian from a Kenmore if it fell on him.

"Well, now she does seem like a nice girl. You should invite her to dinner. Good job, Lash. There is hope for you yet. I just hope that her parents don't mind your…past. I would love to have their whole family over sometime."

Lash felt like he was just slapped in the face. His father somehow turned a budding friendship into something cheap and shady. Like he had purposefully befriended Olivia to make connections and network.

Jake and Melanie were not animatedly talking about possible dinner parties and the type of connections Jake could get to boost his firm.

Suddenly Lash wasn't as hungry and he excused himself from the table.

"_This was not a complication I needed_."

Across town…

Will Stronghold entered his house as carefully as he could. He didn't want to get another lecture about having to replace doors and how expensive it was to fix the molding.

His parents were already in the kitchen and were still in their work clothes. Their realtor work clothes so Will knew it was going to be another pizza night. His parents had to work a lot more overtime to deal with the busted housing market. It was a buyer's market, they told him, and it meant that buyers were a lot more choosey and demanding for what they wanted. And the process to deal with buying foreclosed homes and short sales were a lot more intensive and time consuming than regular sales. Will didn't mind the long hours his parents put in, he understood they were under a lot more stress but he did miss regular family dinners.

His mother was on her Blackberry, typing away.

"_Probably those needy clients she keeps talking about_."

Apparently some families didn't mind asking their realtor to work all hours to find them the perfect house. His father seemed just as distracted but they came together as a family to eat dinner, even if it was a quick dinner.

"Hey, kiddo. How was your first day back?" The Commander asked.

"It was ok. Nothing too demanding for the first day. Just the syllabus and stuff."

"How's Layla?"

Will smiled at the mention of his girlfriend.

"She's good. She's really excited about the new school year and all the new kids."

"Right, I remember you guys had a group coming in from that other school…what's it called?" Steve tried to remember.

"Valhalla"

"Right, Valhalla. It's a good school I hear. Your mom and I were thinking of sending you there."

"Yes, but I couldn't be that far away from my baby," Josie crooned and cupped Will's face.

He was really glad that Layla wasn't there to see his mom baby him. They had been girlfriend/boyfriend for almost three years and best friends even longer but that didn't mean he wanted her to witness something so embarrassing.

"Mommm!" Will whined as he whipped his head away from her. She smiled indulgently at him; he would always be her baby boy.

"Not to mention the tuition!" Steve commented and laughed.

"You're doing that mentoring thing right? Where you show them around? How did that go?" Steve asked, moving the conversation forward. While they were busy, they had a vested interested in their only child's life. They listened to him when he talked and always made time for him.

"It was ok. I don't think we were needed really 'cause it was pretty obvious what they needed to do. The Val kids are kind of weird though. They didn't seem interested in hanging out with anyone but themselves."

"Oh sweetie they're not weird they probably just need time to get used to Sky High. It's a completely different school after all," Josie tried to be as diplomatic as possible.

Will shrugged his shoulders not disagree or agreeing with what his mother said. He remembered what he wanted to tell his parents but wasn't sure how his dad would react. He thought about it for a moment and remembered his father was Steven "The Commander" Stronghold. If Will didn't tell him, his father would find out some other way and then ask why he didn't say something.

"There's a psychic at school now."

The information stilled both elder Strongholds and even distracted Josie from her Blackberry. Josie prepared herself for the rant she knew her husband would say and her own misgivings of the news.

"I knew that school was going downhill and this just takes the cake. Letting a…psychic" he spit out the word with as much distain that he possible could. "…into the school, of all things. I bet this is just another ploy by their kind. Get close to real Supers and get in our heads. They already control the media and even Congress is allowing them to spit all over our freedoms by employing them into government and military positions. They're taking over the country. Reading our minds and knowing things they have no business knowing. You're grandfather would roll over in his grave if he knew his grandson was in school with a psychic. If he knew that they let a psychic in Sky High at all!"

Will just nodded because he had heard this all his life. His mother never disagreed with his father and she kept silent. When Steven was done raging about a psychic near his son, Josie stepped in to calm things down.

"There's nothing we can do about it. By law Sky High can't turn her away but we do want you to stay away from her Will. Psychics are not like other Supers. They can be very dangerous."

Will listened to his mother and nodded to let her know he was listening. Part of him wanted to tell her the girl looked harmless enough and that he could take care of himself. He was super strong and nearly invincible after all. Another part of him was scared at what Olivia could do, what she would be capable of doing in the future. He was scared that she would be able to access his mind, know things that he didn't want anything knowing and what she could do with that knowledge. It was a scary prospect that he could be laid bare before her and she would be able to do whatever she wanted. Plus all the other horror stories of psychics being able to make his brain explode or had the power to take control of his mind, to do their bidding.

"That won't be a problem mom; I won't hang out with her."

His parents were glad to hear that.

The Strongholds ate their dinner and talked of other things.

On the outskirts of town…

Warren came home to an empty two bedroom apartment but that was the norm. His mother was still at work and it'd be a while before she got home because she had a long commute on public transportation. He did his daily routine of going straight to his room and doing all his homework. He didn't have a shift at The Red Lantern, the local Chinese restaurant in Maxville proper, so he decided to clean the apartment some. He did the dishes, cleaned the living room, and started the laundry.

A half hour had passed when all of his chores were done and he decided to start dinner. He chose a meat, vegetable, and a starch. Working in the restaurant, he had picked up a few things in cooking and when his mother came home she was delighted to smell what she was sure a delicious meal.

"Hey, sweetie. It smells great," Gina Peace greeted him with a kiss to the forehead as he set the table. She was very grateful to see the apartment was tidy and went to her room to change out of her work clothes.

When she came back, the table was set and dinner was out and hot. She was very lucky to have a son like Warren and she hugged him from behind while he was sitting at the table.

"How did I get so lucky to end up with a son like you?"

Warren smiled his million dollar smile that he rarely ever showed anyone at the compliment and let his mother hug him. He would do anything for his mother and he knew that he was all she had after his father was incarcerated. He knew that she worked long hours at a thankless job to keep a roof over his head and to pay his tuition at Sky High. He was grateful for the sacrifices she'd made over the years to take care of him and he was glad to do a few chores around the apartment to help out.

He didn't say all this because he was a teenage boy of few words. 

"Eat up, it's getting cold," he replied in a gruff voice.

She kissed the side of his forehead, sat down, and they enjoyed a meal together.

"So how was your first day of school?"

Warren didn't answer in his usual taciturn fashion and merely shrugged.

Gina sighed and resigned herself to another one sided conversation with her teenage son.

"How's Nicole?"

"She's ok."

Gina studied her son when she mentioned his on and off again girlfriend. He seemed sullen and he it was obvious he didn't want to talk about it any further. She didn't like the relationship, mostly because what it put her son through but she knew better than to get in the middle of his relationship. She already had the long awkward talk about protecting himself and being respectful. She trusted Warren enough to be careful and that he was responsible enough to make his own choices. She knew that he was much more mature than most of his classmates and she felt a pang of regret of why he was so mature. After his father went to jail, it was just the two of them. She had to struggle to find work and make ends meet. She couldn't have done it without his help and she was blessed to have such a good son. She did wish that he could have had more time to be a teenager but it was just the way things were.

"I remember Layla telling me there were going to be a lot of transfer students this year, did you meet any of them?"

Warren frowned a bit and he wished the plant manipulator wouldn't talk so much when she was there for study session or when the group hung out at his apartment. Layla was so cordial and talkative that she always told his mother play by plays of what was going on at Sky High. Warren wanted to keep his school and home life separate. It was a way to protect his mother from the hard time he had fitting in and socializing. Things had gotten better since he befriended Will and the others but he still had temper issues with the other students.

"I met one. I didn't do the mentor program but one of them mistook me for someone else. That's about it; I haven't had a chance to meet any of the others."

More like he avoided the Val kids and most other students like the plague; but his mother was under the impression that he was a well rounded kid and he wanted it to stay that way.

"Oh, was he nice?"

"I only talked to her for a second…and she was a psychic."

He didn't know why he said that much but he felt his mother ought to know there was a psychic at the school.

"Oh that's interesting. There's a psychic at my work…she's very nice."

Warren was surprised that his mother worked with a psychic and he was just now finding out about this.

"How long has a psychic been at your work?"

"She's been there ages. She's quick as a whip. I love her; hardly ever have to check in on her. The other attorneys love her too. I think being psychic helps her know how to deal with the neurotic tendencies of attorneys. She always knows the right thing to say."

Gina Peace worked as a Senior Legal Secretary. She supervised all the legal secretaries for several teams of lawyers. Warren didn't like any of the attorneys she worked with because they always seemed to have some sort of stick up their ass and only ever talked about cases they were working on. He didn't understand why they thought he wanted to know anything about whatever brief they were working on but that seemed to be the only thing they ever talked about. It was why he hated going to company picnics.

Gina did not like the scowl Warren was sporting and she straightened him out.

"Now, Warren. I don't want you being rude to this girl just because she's a psychic. They are a perfectly nice and lovely people. I know your father taught you to block your mind from psychics when you were younger and that's fine; but I don't want you to get drawn into his paranoia that psychics are out to get us."

Warren shifted uncomfortably in his chair as his mother caught what he was thinking.

"I wasn't going to do anything, I don't know her."

Gina saw through Warren's attempt to correct himself and she wasn't going to have a bigot in her house.

"See that you don't. I'm sure she's already worried about starting at a whole new school and depending on what kind of psychic she is she doesn't need the thoughts of people judging her for her powers. I think we both know what it's like to be unfairly judged."

His mother's words made him feel ashamed for judging Olivia. He knew what it felt like for people to think he was a criminal for reasons outside of his control. He couldn't help who his father was more than Olivia could control what power she inherited.

"Yes, mama."

Gina smiled at her son, glad that she was able to get through to him.

Mrs. Peace continued on the night, doing her best to keep the one sided conversation going. Warren sat and listened to his mother, wondering what tomorrow would bring.

Back at the Viridian residence…

Olivia was in her room Skyping with Ems, talking about their first day at school.

"Sky High blows and we need to fix it."

Olivia was glad that Ems was on the same page.

"The student council is completely unorganized. Honestly, it's like all they care about are the stupid dances and how to fund them. They don't have any agenda for social programs or clubs."

"Yeah it's uber stupid but at least you have more control over getting their shite together. I'm stuck in Sidekick class learning how to use utility belts and the best way to get a weapon to someone else. What a bunch of shite."

Emma softened and did feel bad for her friend; this was not what Olivia was trained for and her skills were being wasted as a Sidekick.

"Have any plans so far?"

"Not any that doesn't involve violently maiming Coach Boomer. My mother also annoyingly used logic and reasoning on me."

"Ugh I hate when they do that."

They both laughed at the ridiculousness of their statements.

"I do have a plan for a plan though."

"What?"

"Emma, try to keep up. I need to do some recon as my mother brought up a good point. While we can agree that Boomer is a fascist Nazi who doesn't know what he's talking about and brutally rebuffed any logical reasoning"

"Agreed"

"We don't know if he's a competent Hero trainer or not. He could very well have a method to his madness so…"

"Ugh so you're going to take the time and stake out the competition?"

"Yep."

"So you're going to be in Sidekick class for while?"

"Yep."

"What the hell, Olivia? What am I supposed to do during class without passing notes to you?"

"I don't know; maybe do a crazy thing called learning?"

"Pfft these classes are a joke. They're like a year behind us."

"I know, which gives us the advantage. We can skip out or make plans without compromising our GPA."

"Hmmm good point. What's the plan for the plan?"

"Well they have blocked scheduling and the good thing is that they have P.E. three times a week, like at Valhalla. So that gives us plenty of opportunity to scope out their methods and see what we're up against."

"And then?"

"And then I adjust things to what I find out."

"Awesome sauce. Sounds like a good plan…for a plan."

"Yep"

"So Carl tells me you gave Lash a ride home today."

"Carl has a big mouth but yes I did."

Olivia smiled into the webcam and Emma could see her friend felt self-satisfied. She had to hand it to Olivia; she went after what she wanted.

"Are you sure you want to go after Lash?"

"Yeah…he's cute and nice."

"I'm not saying that he's not it's just that…you know. He's older and went to juvie. I mean I'm his freaking warden."

"Yes that does put damper on things but he's not a villain, he's just kind of an idiot. You should know about liking idiots."

Ems rolled her eyes at Olivia's implication and defended her crush.

"That's totally different. Baden's a nice guy who's never gotten into any kind of trouble. My mom wouldn't flip a shit if I brought him home."

"She might when she finds out how dumb he is."

"He's not that dumb!"

"Okay, one- you admit that he's at least a little dumb and two-he really is that dumb. He didn't know what an ampersand was."

"Lot of people don't know that. They aren't all literary experts or know a bunch of random things like you do."

"He thinks the sun turns off at night and doesn't understand why astronauts don't visit it when it's 'cooled down from not being on'."

Emma didn't have a retort to that because Olivia got her on that.

"OK fine, I'll like my idiot and you like the guy who's almost nineteen, has a record, and still a senior."

"Deal."

"Okay, I got to get to bed. Can't wait for the funness that is high school," Olivia told Emma and signed off as they said their goodbyes.

As Olivia lay in bed she thought about her day and the days to come. It was going to be a challenge to get her rightful title back but she wasn't afraid of a little hard work. She wasn't happy about Sky High's system but then she thought of Lash.

Olivia decided Sky High wasn't all that bad.

**A/N: Okay guys, sorry for the long wait but RL is kicking my ass. I'm kicking it right back, so don't worry.**

**Please let me know if you guys think I'm going too slowly with things. I plan to pick up the pace soon and have some action scenes. I'm always opened to constructive criticism to make the story more interesting and improving my writing. **

**Hope you enjoyed the update!**


	13. Chapter 13

**All recognizable Sky High characters, places, and events belong to Disney and its affiliates. I am making no money from this endeavor. As for any original content: Any likeness, similarities, and resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, and events are unintentional and purely coincidental.**

**If anyone wishes to volunteer to beta this fic, feel free to contact me.**

The next morning Olivia woke up with a sense of determination she usually reserved for Battle Days; what Valhalla termed the days they did practical exercises against each other to mimic confrontations with villains. The first day at Sky High did not go as she had hoped, she was a Sidekick and it was a label she'd have to live with until she found a way to change the system.

She decided she would attack the problem as if she was like any commander contemplating their next move in battle: she would observe her enemy, find their weakness, and then make them suffer for it.

The first several classes were dreadfully slow. The block scheduling made the class's hours long and being she was in the Sidekick program, the curriculum seemed even longer. She couldn't believe how subservient the administration made their Sidekicks; they couldn't even contemplate doing any action that could help them in battle. They were to only serve their Heroes and then stay out of the way. Being a glorified servant to some two-bit hero based solely on their powers was not something Olivia was going to take sitting down, even if it would only be for a year.

Emma had already told the Val kids in Hero class what Olivia was up to and the psychic assured the ones stuck in Sidekick class that she was working on the problem. They knew better than to ask for specifics and told her to "let them know" if she needed any backup.

Gym class finally came after lunch and so far the Val kids were not impressed. The gym transformed before their eyes into a walled off arena, with stadium seating. There were also some props randomly placed inside the ring; mostly miscellaneous items such as lamp posts and mail boxes that one might find in an urban setting.

"New students!" Boomer yelled without his powers to the gathering crowd. "You have two minutes to get changed and into the bleachers. I'll explain how Save the Citizen works and then we'll be on our way."

The instructor didn't bother to stay and wait for inevitable annoying questions about his instructions and immediately walked away.

"Wow, they give you a whole **two **minutes to get changed? What do they think we're doing in the locker room that we need so much time?" Olivia pondered out loud as they all made their way to the changing areas. As soon as they went past the doors they immediately came out, all dressed in their battle gear.

The Sky High students were wearing their school gym clothes consisting of white shorts with an orange stripe down the side and light or dark blue t-shirts for females and males respectively. The Val kids did not don the light apparel but opted for their mostly black school uniform for Valhalla. The girls wore form fitting yoga pants and cardio tanks, the boys in similar attire but with track pants and wife beaters. The only color on the clothes was silver stripes that ran down the length of their bottoms and a war hammer with wings emblems on their breast pockets.

Layla watched as the Val kids all stuck together and worried that her goal of unifying the two schools was not working. As the group of black wearing students went to sit in the bleachers, she saw that there was lettering on the backs of the shirts as well. Not all of the Val students had it but a few, notably: Emma, Olivia, and the group they hung out with inside of the Val group; had numbers and what she assumed nicknames plastered on the backs. Emma had the term "Fan-service" and the number three while Olivia had "Smedium" and the number four. The origin of the names piqued Layla's interest and she wanted to see what the others had on as well.

She wasn't one to be shy so she invited herself to the cadre of Val students.

"Hey guys! Welcome to your first round of 'Save the Citizen,'" the redhead said with as much cheer and exuberance as she could muster.

Olivia was baffled at the amount of goodwill coming off the girl so she looked to Emma to deal with the Sky High student.

Emma immediately plastered on her biggest smile and matched the plant manipulators excitement.

"Thanks! I'm sure we can learn a lot, the gym certainly looks amazing. I can't believe you guys have the technology to make the gym so multi-functional."

"Yes, we're very glad that all of our tuition goes to improvements on the gym and not something worthwhile like more equipment for Sidekicks or structural upgrades to the dark dank basement they force them in," Layla finished off slightly bitter.

The earth elemental's subtle disdain for her school made Olivia's ears perk and told herself to make a note of it. The psychic had every intention of ignoring the white hat, as she couldn't fathom someone with scruples being of any use, but her intuition told her that there was more to Layla than sunshine and rainbows. Olivia decided to get in on the conversation and thought that perhaps getting to know Layla would behoove her.

"So what's 'Save the Citizen' all about?" Olivia asked genuinely interested. She figured this was the best way to get to know her enemy.

"It's where the students in Hero class strut their stuff while all those in Hero Support sit by and watch."

"Seriously? That's all Sidekicks do?"

"Hero Support," Layla corrected, hating the term Sidekick. Olivia used all the self-control she had to not roll her eyes at the politically correct term.

"And yes," Layla continued. "They don't teach Hero Supporters any offensive or defensive maneuvers as they're only supposed help their Hero, never to get into battle if they can help it."

"And if they can't?"

"Then they're taught to distract their enemy until the Hero can deal with it. They're given utility belts and apparently that's all what has been deemed necessary and nothing else. I think it's shameful the way they have complete disregard for Hero Supports' lives. They don't seem to care that HS has the biggest mortality rate of the Super community and it doesn't seem to occur to them to train them for better survival and not just be..." the ranting super teen had a hard time coming up with a suitable term so Olivia helped her out.

"Glorified servants?" echoing her earlier thoughts.

Layla wanted to agree but she couldn't bring herself to label her friends as such. The stark truth of the matter was that Olivia was absolutely right. Sky High had a class system. The powerful elite and those beneath them that they saw fit only to hand them weapons.

"I don't want to say that...exactly...but..."

"It's fine, we get it. Hell I agree. It's pretty fucked up what Sky High is doing here."

"You do?" Layla could hardly believe there was finally someone willing to agree with what she's been saying all along.

"Yeah I mean, Valhalla has its own pecking order and all but at least the Sidekicks are taught hand-to-hand combat."

Layla wanted to go more into the inner workings of the other school but Boomer had made his presence known and was ready to start class.

"Listen up!" Tommy Boomowski's voice reverberated throughout the gym. "First off, why aren't you all in your Sky High uniforms?" his question directed at the students in black.

"Ummm mine got lost in the move," one Val gave as an excuse.

"Mine doesn't fit," another pipped up.

"I burned mine as soon as I saw it," Olivia said with a wicked grin. "Orange does nothing for me."

Boomer kept his temper in check; this wasn't his first rodeo and it wouldn't be his last dealing with teenagers that made the gym burst at its seams with attitude. He had to be the bigger person and show them he was the authority.

"OK smart alecs. Drop and give me twenty, now!"

The Sky High students flinched at the punishment and didn't envy their peers at all.

They were surprised when the psychic gave a smirk and all the Val kids obediently went to the gym floor through the small door on the side. They formed a perfect line and all dropped down in synch. Each had perfect form as they did what they were told; moving up and down in perfect fluid motions. Dom was at the front, Boomer could see that he had the name "All Access" with the number one on his back. He was leading the count with the Val students repeating after every set. It was a sight to behold and Boomer knew when he was being shown up.

It further gritted his nerves when they had finished their twenty reps quickly and in the same fluid unison, got up and stood at attention. It was as if the Val students were trained by an elite task force for the Navy Seals.

"Anything else Coach Boomer?" Dom barked. The obedience of the teen's words did not match the look on his face.

"No _Sidekick_, that'll do," Boomer snarked at the black haired teen, knowing he'd riled some feathers. He was satisfied when the defiant teen's face contorted with anger.

"You will wear the Sky High issued uniforms for gym class. You are not at Valhalla, get over it. Do you understand?"

"Yes, coach Boomer!" they all replied back.

"Now that the whiner babies know how to dress next time we can get started; Stronghold, Peace! Front and center!"

The two supers did as they were told, already wearing the required padding for the fight. They were the reigning champions at Save the Citizen and were hyped up for the first battle of the school year.

Warren was not interested in the crowd and he just wanted to get gym class over with. It was the same thing every year; Will would use his super strength while he would throw fire balls every which way he could. There would sometimes be a challenge in the form of Larry the rock monster or even his girlfriend Freezegirl, but no team has been able to oust the two as title holders. He and Will worked great as a team because wherever one failed the other made up for it. They were a powerhouse of brute force that could not be reckoned with.

Warren eyed the new kids, sizing them up. They didn't look like anything special but then again he was sure he didn't either. Looks didn't exactly translate power, the best evidence of that was Larry. He knew the one Val girl was psychic but he wasn't sure about the others. He wasn't there for power placement and he was starting to regret not asking Will about it beforehand. He should have been more prepared but he was confident he could take on any nemesis.

Speaking of psychics…he eyed the dark haired girl and saw she was talking with Layla. The plant manipulator looked completely enthusiastic and engaged in the conversation while the Val girl seemed pensive. The hairs on the back of Warren's neck bristled because of a deep rooted distrust of psychics took place. He was sure the girl was up to no good and he knew Layla was too naïve to see the possible trouble she could get into messing with the wrong people.

"Who's the girl Layla is talking to?" Warren asked his best friend while Coach Boomer went over the finer points of the game.

"That's Olivia," Will replied darkly. The two were on the same page when it concerned the bubbliest member of their group conversing with the clairvoyant.

"So now that everyone is caught up; Will, Warren: What side are you on?" Boomer asked them although he knew the answer.

"Heroes," Will answered promptly.

"Of course you are," he blithely commented as he wrote on his clipboard. "Who're you going against?"

Warren couldn't care less who they fought so the decision of their opponents usually rested on Will. Unlike Speed and Lash, the super strong teen tried to judiciously pick his opponents based on who would be the fair fight. He almost never picked females, his father raised him better than that, and he didn't think it right to pick anyone from the grade below them. He wasn't allowed to choose a Sidekick, not that he ever would because he knew he and Warren had an unfair advantage; so his pool of adversaries dwindled quickly. He knew eventually he'd fight everyone in Hero class as the matches were only three minutes long but he still didn't have the stomach to pick someone he thought was weaker than him…which included most people in the school. He was tempted to pick from the pool of Val kids but that didn't seem fair to him either. They were new and probably didn't know how powerful he and Warren were. So he went to his stand-bys, the ones he felt were close to him and Warren in fighting prowess.

"Larry Berman and Juan Ramirez," he decided upon.

The rock shifter and kinetic absorber, respectively, made their way down to the arena and suited up. While the crowd waited, Olivia had further questions.

"So basically the practical portion of gym is spent playing a three minute, two on two, lame version of defend the hill?" Olivia said with exasperation.

"Yeah…I guess," Layla replied, not sure what else they would do in gym.

"Right. And Sidekicks are supposed to do what exactly?"

"Well they're supposed to take notes and come up with short reports on how they might be able to help each Hero. On gym days that don't play STC they usually do cardio and stamina exercises. Nothing offensive but they're expected to be able to keep up with their Heroes, so there's a lot of focus on endurance."

"I guess I'll take notes then."

Layla was a bit surprised at Olivia's calm demeanor. She was hoping for a more spirited, even confrontational, reaction to the news.

All the clairvoyant did was take out a notepad and a small black device from her backpack. She then took the rectangular gadget and placed it upon the notebook beside her. She then placed a smaller square piece on her right temple, crouched over, and looked to be very interested in the ensuing fight.

The Sky High students around here were amazed when the device started to move on paper and words appeared.

"What? You have a Thought Processor? That's amazing," Ethan said, marveling at the technology.

Olivia didn't pay him any mind as she was concentrating on the match. Emma filled him in on Olivia's device.

"Yeah her parents got it for her for Christmas last year. It's really handy to take fast notes," Emma said to her curious peers.

"Oh so it's like a Qwik Quill from Harry Potter," Magenta commented, impressed herself.

"Yes but it doesn't take such liberties. It can only record your exact thoughts…which can get kind of embarrassing sometimes if you get suddenly distracted."

"Ummm dude I think it's broken. It's only writing gibberish and squiggly lines," Zach observed.

"No, Olivia only takes thought notes in Lingua Deorum; it's to keep the notes private."

Everyone except Ethan, their resident encyclopedia, was confused as to what Emma was talking about.

"Wow, she knows Lingua Deorum? The supposed language of the gods?" Ethan asked with excitement.

Emma nodded and Ethan expounded when the group seemed to be still confused.

"Lingua Deorum is the rumored language of the gods, what they would speak to their emissaries on earth. It's a language only known to those who have bloodlines going back to four hundred B.C. Only a handful of families can boast that, two of them from psychic lines."

Layla was impressed and the others to varying degrees. Magenta didn't really care and Zach couldn't quite grasp the magnitude of a genealogy going back that far.

While the group discussed around Olivia ancient languages and the psychic lost in thought, a battle raged in front of them.

Larry was always a good contender, determined to win against _The_ Will Stronghold and Warren Peace. He enjoyed the brief popularity that came with being chosen as a Hero but it disappeared quickly once the Stronghold scion came into his powers. When the pyro joined his ranks, it's as if Larry had disappeared off the face of the planet. He was no longer on anyone's radar and he blended into the background. He was small and ginger, the only thing he had going for him was an awesome power. But the way the match was going, like it went with all the ones before, his power didn't matter in the end because he couldn't beat Will and Warren. He was continually bested by the Will/Warren team and had yet to figure out a way to defeat them. They were just too quick and Will had too many advantages. Will just flew away from his attacks and they were about evenly matched in strength. The only thing keeping the flyer from saving the citizen was Larry's girth while in rock form; it shielded the citizen perfectly from Stronghold's attempts.

Warren was working well to keep Ramirez at bay. The kinetic absorber had a useful power but only in certain situations; most notably physical strikes. The Hispanic youth had yet to figure out a way to absorb the energy in Warren's fireballs, at least while not getting burned in the process. So Warren was astute enough to know not to attack Juan directly but to barrage the converter with well placed bolides. He also kept his arms aflame as it deterred Juan from attacked him directly.

The countdown was coming to an end and Warren knew he needed to do something. He wasn't about to lose the first match of the year to Larry and Ramirez, ending his winning streak.

So he quickly assessed the situation and came up with a plan. He cornered Ramirez and drew a line of fire to trap the other teen. It wouldn't last forever as his powers were starting to fatigue and he only had so much fire juice in him but it would be enough to keep his competition out of the way.

Warren jogged to where Larry and Will were fighting. It wasn't very far as Larry took up a third of the arena. The rock monster was successfully batting away Will and stomped around enough on the ground to deter Warren.

So the firestarter gathered all his energy and focused his power at the ground below Larry's feet. The rock monster was impervious to most physical hits but he wasn't invulnerable to heat.

Larry tried to ignore the increasing heat that rose under his feet but the pyro was adamant about throwing the shifting teen off his feet. The flame became so concentrated that his normally brown form started to glow red, becoming embers. The pain emitting from his feet become too great to disregard and he was the first to flinch. He ran away from the heat source, loosing enough concentration that he reverted back to his normal size; rolling onto the floor, trying to put the flames out. Larry was now immobilized as the burns on his feet transferred from his rock form to his human one. There was nothing stopping Will as he easily flew to the dummy citizen and saved the day; with twenty whole seconds to spare.

The students did their obligatory standing ovation with the exception of the Val kids who were used to seeing a more robust show. They weren't quite sure what just happened.

"Wow, I am exceedingly _under_whelmed by that display," Olivia stated, completely unimpressed. She took off the thought processor and wasn't sure if she should bother taking any notes.

"What are your thoughts?" Emma asked calmly.

"OK we need some volunteers to take Berman to the nurse's office," Boomer asked the crowd before Olivia could answer.

"Me and Brodick will!" Olivia answered before anyone could, not that anyone was itching to take the redheaded male to get healed.

Baden was not a deep thinker but he was good at following orders. He didn't question why Olivia had volunteered him but automatically went down to the injured student.

"What are you doing?" Emma asked, confused by Olivia's random chivalry.

"Research," she said simply and Emma knew to not question it further.

"Here," the psychic said as she handed the headpiece to the Thought Processor to the time bender. "Take some more notes; see how they do with other opponents."

"No probs."

The psychic then went to where Larry and Baden stood, the rock shifter still on the ground as he couldn't get up to his feet.

"Hey, Larry right?" Olivia asked the injured student.

"Yeah," was all he said feeling utterly defeated, staring at the ground and not wanting to look at the female.

It was all the same to Olivia, she was on a mission to get her rightful status; not to make friends with the locals.

"Do you guys have an emerg chair or anything?" the clairvoyant asked, referring to an emergency chair that they could place him in to roll him to the infirmary.

Larry shook his head "no" and Olivia thought:

"_Perfect_"

"Ok, Bade: take his left side and I'll get his right"

Baden did as he was told after Olivia explained to him to switch sides go to the "other left", then the two lifted the orange haired teen and walked out of the gym.

Behind them, Will and Warren readied themselves for another fight.

"Where's the infirmary?" Olivia asked as she realized she wasn't sure where she should be going.

"It's at the main part of the building, next to the principal's office," the Sky High student replied.

That confused Olivia because she didn't understand why their medical station would be so far away from where they held their fights.

"It's not near the gym? What sense does that make?"

"That's Sky High for you. They assume it's good enough because 'real heroes' don't get hurt during Save the Citizen. They…"

Larry started to rant but Olivia tuned him out in favor of getting a read on him. Badan was too oblivious and Larry was in too much pain to notice that Olivia's eyes went gold. She lifted important information off of Larry and she was intrigued by what she saw.

"_This could be of use_."

The trio arrived at the nurses office and Olivia was further baffled.

"Ummm…is this it?"

"Yeah, it's a nurse's office. What do you expect to be here?" Larry asked somewhat offended at what he perceived to be a snooty attitude. He knew the Val kids were all rich but he didn't expect them to be disparaging on something as petty as how well stocked the nurse's station was.

"_What does she expect? A freaking spa or something?_" Larry thought to himself.

There were no such things as private feelings and thoughts around a psychic and she immediately picked up on Larry's new feelings for her. It was to her advantage though because an idea was seeded in her mind and if it were to grow, no one could have an inkling to what she was up to.

"Oh nothing. I just thought it'd be bigger and better supplied," Olivia said, giving half the truth. It wasn't as though she thought the nurse's station was sub-par but she did notice that there were several key things that it lacked; things that Valhalla had in spades and for good reason.

"So are they equipped to handle your injury? I mean, it doesn't seem like they'd be able to do much for your burns," Olivia pressed, needing to know more.

"They probably aren't, sorry this isn't the great Valhalla. Normally the more injured students are taken to Chiron."

He was referring to the hospital dedicated to the Super community…which was on the ground.

"So I guess they'll send you with a flying bus and the twenty minutes, give or take our location above California, journey to the hospital…all the while you sit in pain?"

"Yeah, the system sucks for those of us that don't have natural resilience but like I was saying, who gives a shit if you're not Will Stronghold or Warren Peace," Larry finished with a healthy amount of bitterness.

The seed in her brain was growing by the minute. Not only was Sky High not as equipped as Valhalla but it seemed there was discontent among the Sky High natives about the way things worked.

"Yes, that is unfortunate. Well since the nurse seems to be on holiday and who knows when you'll actually see medical attention, why don't you let my friend Baden here give you something to tide you over. Bade, why don't you give my friend Larry here some comfort, eh?"

The healer was completely not involved in the conversation as he was distracted by the ocular model that stood at a table. He was fascinated by how squishy it was and the pretty colors. He was knocked out of his fun by Olivia. Baden wasn't very smart about most things but the one thing he knew for certain was that when Olivia Viridian asked him to do something, it was in his best interest to do it; especially because most times she gave him a cookie for a job well done.

"Sure, no prob Livs," the healer said jovially.

Larry was a bit hesitant to accept help from the Warren Peace look alike and it was unnerving to see the black haired teen smile. He had never seen the pyro smile in his three years at Sky High and to see someone who looked like the firestarter do so; it was as if he stepped into an alternate universe. And in the Super world, it was a very good possibility.

"Sorry he can't completely heal you and save you the trip to the hospital," Olivia started to explain as Baden's hand glowed cobalt and touched Larry's feet. She smiled as the curly haired teen started to relax.

Larry had been sitting in pain for almost ten minutes, the burning sensation unrelenting and he was starting to feel his leg pulsate; pain shooting up in time with his heartbeat. He was glad to find relief in any way he could. Baden's hands were like cool ice pads, chasing away the burn. He was still uncomfortable but it was much better than the continuous ache he felt moments ago.

"Good job Bade, I'll have your payments tomorrow."

The healer grinned at the thought of warmed chocolate chip cookies that waiting for him.

Olivia was glad Baden was easy to please but she hadn't forgotten his smug attitude at getting Hero and he still needed to be punished. She was starting to get a good idea of how she was going to do it but she knew it had to be in a way where the healer couldn't connect it to her…which shouldn't be hard given how slow he was.

As if to prove her point, Baden got his hand stuck in the lollipop jar; trying to get out way too many at one time. He didn't seem to understand that fisting lollipops instead of getting one at a time was what kept him captive.

"Livs, I need your help," he said pathetically.

Olivia and Larry exchanged a look. Larry's asked "Is he really that dumb?"

Olivia's eyes told him "Yes. Yes he was."

She took pity on the attractive male and grabbed the jar from him.

"Bade, let go of the lollies."

"But I want them."

"I know but you want your hand more. Let them go."

He did as he was told and Olivia smartly grabbed one and gave it to Baden and then did the same thing with each flavor. The healer was a happy camper and Olivia didn't have to see a sixteen year old struggle to just get some sweets.

"Well we'll leave you to the nurse," Olivia told Larry as the ancient medical provider finally walked in.

The two made their way back to the gym; Baden mindlessly sucking away, happy and content, while Olivia's mind quickly put together the first stages of a plan. She knew she still needed a lot more research but was glad something was under way.

**A/N: Sorry that I haven't updated in such a long time but RL has been particularly brutal lately. I do promise more updates soon though.**

**Also, if you want more of a Steven Strait fix; please see my new fic "Nothing in Vain." I'd really like to know what you guys think. Thanks!**


	14. Chapter 14

**All recognizable Sky High characters, places, and events belong to Disney and its affiliates. I am making no money from this endeavor. As for any original content: Any likeness, similarities, and resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, and events are unintentional and purely coincidental.**

**Unbeta'd, so all mistakes are my own. If anyone wishes to volunteer to beta this fic, feel free to contact me.**

Olivia came back in time to see another couple of Heroes bite the dust under Will and Warren. She didn't know who they were but she knew she'd find out later from Emma's notes. The Val kids, Heroes and Sidekicks alike, looked increasingly bored and Olivia asked if she missed anything.

"Not really. It's pretty much the same thing over and over again. They put up a pitiful show; Stronghold flies around a bit and hits the ground so hard the wood waves out and knocks the 'villians' off their feet. Warren runs here and there, maybe throws a fireball and saves the dummy. This is sheer and utter bollocks," Kerry filled her in.

After several fights and many notes, gym was finally over. It was literally one of the most boring matches they've seen and it made Olivia lament practicals were twice a week at Sky High as opposed to once a week at Valhalla She didn't know how exciting the training Sidekicks received during their non-practical days would be but it had to be more entertaining than watching the same two students battle over and over again.

"Guys, lets meet in the library after school. I want to go over what we just saw."

The Elite members groaned because they couldn't believe they'd have to go through the same matches they just saw but knew it was for the greater good. They agreed they'd meet Olivia at the designated place and went their separate ways.

Lunch had been a tame affair as Olivia opted to sit alone in order to think. She was going over her notes and translating them into slides on her tablet. She sat in a very specific spot, absorbing any information she could. Unfortunately the usual occupant of the seat didn't think too much about fighting during lunch. There was one incident his sophomore year but other than that all he did was read. Currently he was going through a J.D. Salinger phase.

The occupant in question showed up just as she was about to translate another page and he was not happy someone was sitting in his usual spot.

Warren hated the cafeteria and he hated cafeteria food even more. He wished he could get up earlier to make his lunch and bring it rather than wait in line for fifteen minutes to get awful food. Unfortunately with school, a job, and a girlfriend; sleep was a precious commodity and getting up to make lunch never seemed to be worth it.

What he did like about lunch time was that it was a respite from school. His friends knew to give him his space when he wanted it, as did his girlfriend…at least most of the time. She complained most days that he "didn't want to spend time with her" and others they were on a break. So on that day's lunch break, Nicole was happy to sit with her friends and gossip about all the new kids etc…To his chagrin, there was someone in his seat.

This was an actual tradition at Sky High, at least it seemed like it to Warren. Every year there would be a new kid, usually a transfer but sometimes a freshmen, that would sit in his seat and he'd have a confrontation on his hands. Normally Warren wouldn't be so petty as to get into an altercation over a table but this one was special. It was situated perfectly with the windows and gave the most direct sunlight. He liked to read under natural light and not the harsh florescent bulbs the school provided. He always planned on calmly asking for the person to move but for some ungodly reason the usurper would react as if he said something horrendously offensive. Their unnecessary hostility set off his own short fuse and there would be heated words exchanged. What he hated the most about these confrontations was that afterward the students, always female, would develop a crush on him and pursue him with stalker like enthusiasm. They had it in their head that acting like a total bitch for no reason was somehow endearing instead of completely off putting. The new students were under the misconception that their fight instigated a love/hate relationship rather than just mere annoyance on his part. It definitely made him appreciate his girlfriend a lot more because while they had their spats, at least she wasn't totally delusional. He set the girls straight after a day and they got the picture that he wasn't into their "in your face" attitude. He hoped they matured and woke up to the reality that no one gets romantically involved with a contentious ass that is mean to everyone for no reason. He might be surly at times but he had his nice moments, hence his friends and girlfriend.

When Warren saw that it was Olivia that sat in his spot, he hesitated to deal with the psychic. Unfortunately, with the influx of students the cafeteria was a lot more crowded and therefore less space for him to receded to. While he contemplated what his next move ought to be, Olivia looked up and saw him standing in front of her.

"Sorry guy, is this your seat?"

He didn't verbally answer her but nodded his head.

"My bad, I'll move,"she said with an easygoing smile.

And just like that, Olivia gathered her belongings and left, giving him an apologetic grin, telling him that she meant no harm. He thought it was strange that she was sitting by herself in the first place and wondered if she was like him; sometimes they just needed alone time. He sat down, pulled out "Franny and Zooey", and settled down to relax. He read a few pages, engrossed in the lives of the Glass family and as he was about to eat some of his lunch he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

It was a piece of paper with strange writing on it.

Warren recognized the language as Lingua Deorum and was surprised that Olivia came from one of the few Super lines that actually knew it. He perused the page, translating it although he was a little rusty; when he realized what she wrote about, he shook his head.

"_Jeez, do Sidekicks have nothing better to do than spend time writing about 'cute guys_?'"

The guy in question was sitting at the furthest table away from most people. The psychic had joined Lash and they seemed to be enjoying each other's company.

He was starting to suspect that his dad had been overly paranoid in training him to distrust psychics. As far as he could tell, Olivia was like every other girly girl and was no more threat than any Sidekick.

On the other side of the room, Olivia smiled as Warren fell into her trap.

"What are you so happy about?" Lash asked the suddenly very smiley Olivia.

"Oh just some insurance that went through."

Lash had no idea what she was talking about but brushed it off. She was strange at times but she was fun to be around. The previous conversation with his dad over last night's dinner still bothered him but he always forgot his reservations when he was around Olivia. She made all the insecurity and apprehension go away and he liked that feeling. She genuinely didn't care about his past and was trying to get to know who he was presently.

Seeing her smile and the warm feeling it created in him, he didn't care what the reason was as long as she kept doing it.

The day dragged on for what seemed like years but it was finally three in the afternoon and they were done for the day; at least with school, the members of the Elite team needed to meet in the library because Olivia had some sort of plan.

They gathered at the furthest corner of the book repository, away from the magical section; for whatever reason, magical energy never liked technological energy and always messed with their gadgets. So they found a big table in the most deserted part of the library; the periodicals. With the invention of the internet, everything in the section could be found easier and faster but for some reason the school thought it should keep wasting money on the hard copies. As if most students would actually research and cite their work as opposed to looking it up on Wikipedia. Only one student in the entire school was nerdy enough to put in the unneeded effort and it was what Olivia was counting on.

So Olivia started to set up and she put her tablet on projection mode. The slides appeared ghostly above the computer, rotating in a 3-D image. She grabbed the slide as if it were solid and motioned it to the blank white wall. The image appeared before them and was big enough for all to see it. They saw that they were still shots of Warren and Will.

"So here you go guys, this is the team to beat."

"What exactly is the point of this? I think we know we can defeat these guys, what I want to know is why bother? Do you think that Boomer is going to be so impressed with us that he'll make us Heroes?" Jonah asked.

"No...I realized very quickly at gym that having Boomer make us Heroes isn't enough. I think it's time to quit with the P.C. bullshit and just out and say it. This school is plebeian high. We're rich and they're not. Coming from money has afforded us many privileges, the one pertinent to this discussion being: we have access to a lot more training resources. Those resources got us where we are today and Sky High is not equipped to train us to the standard we're accustomed to."

"So what's the plan? How do we get the funds not to mention resources here? My parents are all the way on the east coast and more or less told me to stop whining and deal with my Sidekick issues."

"Yes, I've run into that problem as well. Another hurdle in our way is that most of our parents expect us to tackle our own issues and not hold our hand. That's not normally a problem with us but unfortunately they're the ones with the money; and money equals resources and power. So our goal is to get the support of our parents."

"How are we going to do that though? They don't see why Sky High isn't good enough." Madison pipped up.

"That's what my plan is for. I know how to do it I just need to time it right."

"And the plan is?" Dom asked impatiently.

"It's best that no one knows the particulars."

"Oh Jesus Olivia am I going to have to bail you out of jail?" Emma asked worriedly as the psychic was known to go "balls to the wall" on more than one occasion.

"No it's not that kind of plan. Totally legal...as long as we do it in the gym during practicals. The only thing...it's going to hurt. A lot. So any volunteers?"

The group looked nervously at each other, not sure if they should go in on the plan. The upside was that Olivia's plans always worked. The downside was that she never said anything unnecessarily. So if she said something was going to hurt then they were in for a world of pain.

"I'll do it," Dom said without fear.

Olivia knew he would be the one to do it. Not only was he the leader of the entire team but he had the most to lose if the plan fizzled. She was also glad he volunteered because he was one of the few Elite that had the particular skills she knew she'd need.

"OK, I'll over some specifics after this and then whenever I get the timing right, I'll let you all know what you need to do. Now lets get to studying who we're up against."

Olivia went over the finer points of the matches and the Elite. She showed not only the fights that happened that day but the ones she'd swiped from the rock kid.

The Thought Processor was again attached to Olivia's temple and the projections were displayed on the wall. She had multiple screens going at once, pausing the action with just her thoughts.

"OK these are memories from Larry Berman. Shifter class: Mineral formation with super strength. He stomps around and throws his weight around. Nothing else. He's fought Stronghold and Peace many times. Will is physical _and_ flying class: He's not fast enough to break the sound barrier yet but he's getting there. His strength is measured at fifty men. His father has topped at one hundred. He also has invulnerability. He takes all of Larry's hits like they're mosquito bites. His skin has the power as well, he never bleeds during a match. So direct physical confrontation isn't going to work as none of us has the ability to apply enough force to even slow him down. He doesn't have any weaknesses as far as I can tell other than his friends and girlfriend, he's very protective of them: note that we can't use them in STC. Maddy, Kerry I'm placing you on research duty for Stronghold. Let's see if any family members have a history of vulnerabilities: allergies, alien rocks, whatever."

The group nodded and knew their duties. They all took their own notes and brainstormed how they could take on such an impressive adversary.

"Now that brings us to Peace. I can only assume that his mother is Gina Peace: Class unknown. Only known power is resilience, she wasn't in the super hero game long before she had Warren. So Warren can take a hit but he's not invulnerable. So when you strike, strike hard. Father: unknown but obviously elemental class: sub-class pyro. That narrows it down to the St. Jonh's, Battles, Gerrasons, Charsons, Cacusons, Mixcoatls, and Sethlans. I'll look further into it. He's a bit trickier. He's not as predictable as Stronghold. The flyer is a one trick pony. Go-to move is the Earth-Shaker made famous by The Commander. He generally gets his enemy disoriented then incapacitates them. So we need to be on the lookout for his windup."

"Looks like he's afraid of girls," Emma pointed out towards the slides that were animated as Olivia talked.

"What?"

"All the slides show him fighting males, he never takes on the females."

The group looked at all the short movies and saw that Emma was right.

"Good observation. There are twenty memories here and only a third of them contain female combatants and they're all fighting Warren. Stronghold's family is the poster child of 'conservative values' and that probably includes 'women belong barefoot in the kitchen and not out saving humanity.' That's something we can use to our advantage. With Warren though, it looks like his weakness might be that he only has so much fire-juice in him. If you look at today's fight, he uses a lot of ammo to fight Larry and he's showing signs of fatigue right before he blasts the shifter's feet. That tells us two things. One: His powers tire him out. Two: Despite that, he's will to go all out for one last good move. I think he knew he was running low so he made it count. He's smart. In the subsequent matches, he relies less on his powers and more on hand to hand combat. I think that suggests that he knows to pace himself. Save his powers for opponents that need it and do without in all other cases."

"Lyndsey, was there something you wanted?" Olivia asked in the middle of her analysis, not missing a beat and turning her head away from the screen and towards the stacks.

All the Elite looked to Olivia's line of sight and the black girl revealed herself. She looked like a child caught doing something she shouldn't have and could barely keep her head from looking completely down. The hormone manipulator at least had enough pride to keep her eyesight level even though she wouldn't look anywhere near Olivia, nor would she answer the psychic's question.

Lyndsey quickly went to Emma and handed her a stack of papers.

"Here Emma, it's flyers from student council they want handed out to everyone."

"Thanks, Lynds. I'll talk to you later eh?" Emma tried to desperately neutralize the situation.

None of the other Elite knew exactly what happened but they did guess it had something to do with Olivia's sometimes overbearing personality and Lyndsey's criminal shyness. They all busied themselves with menial tasks, mostly checking their messages on their phones and texting, in order to remove themselves from awkward situation.

"Sure," was all Lyndsey replied before she skitted off like a scared rabbit in the woods.

Olivia looked away as she grew bored with the situation. It was Lyndsey being Lyndsey: completely non-confrontational to the point of ridiculousness. She at least acknowledged the other girl's presence even though black girl had been basically spying on them.

It was OK though, all part of the plan.

"How long was she standing there?" Jonah asked, worried that an outsider had been in the "war room" so to speak.

"Long enough to know what we're doing," Olivia answered in an unusually nonchalant manner.

"Aren't you worried she might snitch to the other side? I mean she's one of the Val Sidekicks benefiting from Boomer's fascist regime," Dom asked heatedly.

"I'm counting on it."

Bringing Lyndsey in the plans was not something Emma was cool with. Despite the troubles they were having, the introverted girl was still her friend and she wasn't going to allow Olivia use the shy girl like a pawn.

"There's no need to drag Lyndsey into this."

"I didn't tell her spy on us and I am certainly not making her do anything. If she goes to Stronghold or Peace with what she knows then that's completely on her. I mean what exactly do you want me to do? Go and tell her not to do it?"

Emma was trapped because Olivia knew Lyndsey well enough that if the clairvoyant confronted her former friend then it would just serve to embarrass the black girl.

"_And if by going to the other side and claiming I'm some diabolical mastermind when Warren has 'proof' that I'm not then well that's just bully for me,_" Olivia thought to herself.

Emma remained silent. She knew Olivia was up to something but knew better than to confront the psychic. Olivia was always a step ahead of people and Emma made the mistake of letting her out of sight during lunch. Only God knew what Olivia was up to during the hour and could have set anything in motion. The time bender sighed and just hoped that Olivia didn't do anything too rash.

"Anyway, back to the screen. Warren's main abilities..."

Outside of the school in the bus depot

The rag tag group that made up Will Stronghold's friends stood outside the school bus waiting for the new bus driver to get things sorted out. They missed Ron Wilson. While he was a complete fanboy for Will at least he was competent. The slew of bus drivers that had replaced him while he worked for the city never seemed to know what they were doing.

The teens loitered and talked about the day.

Warren stood to the side, content to listen to the others. He was tried from the days exertion. It was after an especially grueling day that the pyro envied his best friend. Will was as chipper and happy-go-lucky as ever; the super teen didn't look like he completed an hour straight of fighting his fellow students to save a mannequin. The firestarter was glad to have the night off from work though and he could spend a quiet evening in with his girlfriend.

Nicole leaned against him and he enjoyed her closeness. He could only hope that she'd be up for a night in as well and didn't want to drag him to the mall.

Suddenly from the school, a Val girl he wasn't familiar with approached him and he straighten up. He wasn't sure why but he always shied away from public displays of affection, even if it was as innocent as hugging. He learned at an early age that he didn't like it when people were looking at him and wondering about what he was doing. The attention he received when his father was incarcerated made him distrustful of most people's intentions and built a wall around him to keep them out. There were very few he let his guard down around and it did not include Val kids.

"Hey, Warren right?" the girl said her voice wavering. She was obviously nervous about talking to him and that put him on high alert. People who came to him scared were not to be trusted as they were probably afraid of the shadow his father left for him; or they knew what they were doing was wrong and invasive.

"Yeah?" he asked, refusing to talk more than he had to.

"I'm...I'm here to warn you."

Warren frowned at the revelation and wondered what the hell the girl could be warning him about.

"About?"

"The Elite students from Valhalla. They're analyzing the fight from today and a bunch of other stuff. They're looking for your weaknesses and planning something."

"Planning what, exactly? What are the Elite?"

"They're the top students at Valhalla. I'm not sure what they're planning but I'm pretty sure it's for the next match."

Warren didn't see the big deal. So what if they were going over the days match. They would see that he was a formidable opponent and they should take care. Warren assumed that by "Elite" the girl meant what they called their Heroes. He could see a bunch of snooty rich kids giving themselves such a title and refrained himself from rolling his eyes.

"OK, thanks for the heads up but I'm pretty sure Will and I can handle ourselves."

He started to turn away but Lyndsey wasn't finished.

"No you don't understand. They're planning something and it's never anything good. You don't know Olivia like I do, she'll destroy your life if she doesn't get her way."

That didn't seem like the girl who gave up her seat without an argument Warren thought to the time at lunch. 

"She's got you in her sights and she'll find your weakness then make you pay for it. She analyzing the day's match and she's going to find a way to take you down."

Warren's radar was up and he wasn't sure why. All of a sudden he felt anxious and ready to bolt. It wasn't in his nature to run away from a situation and now he felt like it was the only thing he wanted to do. He eyed the girl suspiciously and wondered what her deal was.

"What's your name again?"

"Ummm Lyndsey...Lyndsey Chary."

Chary. He knew that surname. It was infamous in the Super community, almost at much as Battle. She was related to Janet Chary AKA Passionique. The super was known to use her powers to manipulate men into doing her bidding among other things. Her powers somehow messed with their chemical make-up and caused them to act irrationally. It certainly explained the sudden panic that arose inside him.

Lyndsey didn't know what she was doing, going to Warren Peace and trying to warn him. She knew that Olivia was planning something and that she had to stop the psychic. If she didn't then who knew what kind of chaos would ensue. At Sky High she was respected more and damned if she was going to let Olivia take that away from her. Sure she didn't earn the title of Hero but that didn't matter at their current school. The clairvoyant needed to be knocked down a peg or seven and learn some humility. Learn how it felt to be at the bottom of the barrel. She also didn't want the Baden look-a-like to get hurt either which was what Olivia probably had in mind. She just wished she could slow down her heart beat while talking to such an attractive male. Her thoughts were a jumble and she couldn't articulate just how dangerous Olivia could be when the psychic put her mind to it.

"What are you doing to me?" Warren asked angrily, noticing her eyes turning from an unassuming brown to a metallic copper. He knew that some Supers' powers manifested with their eye color changing; like with Olivia.

Lyndsey froze and cursed her power. She was sure that her anxiety was activating her abilities against her will and forcing them onto him.

"I...I..." she tried to speak but nothing would come out. Suddenly she knew the precarious situation she was in. She was dealing with a bigger and more powerful person than she was and he did not look to be happy.

"Are you using your powers on me? Making me feel like this?" Warren's voice was starting to raise and gather the attention of the surrounding Supers.

"I'm sorry..." she tried to explain but it was the worst thing she could have said.

Warren balked at the apology because the girl basically admitted to using her power on him. He wanted to flame up but he couldn't concentrate enough to activate his powers.

"You aren't supposed to use your powers outside of the gym, what are you doing? Trying to psych him out for the next match? Well it's not going to work!" Nicole stepped in defending her boyfriend. She had never seen him look so worked up and nervous. She also felt the tingling sensation of panic settle into her. She wasn't one to choke up under pressure, she was more adept at lashing out until whatever was making her feel uncomfortable went away.

At Freezegirl's accusations, Lyndsey really started to tense up and she wished she kept out of the whole thing.

Soon the neurotransmitter controller's nerves reached a peak and she accidentally sent out an emotion bomb that had effected those around her in a twenty foot radius. All students in the red zone felt as if something was constricting their heart and that they were about to drown. It was as if every worry they ever had in their life was happening all at once and that there was nothing they could do about it.

Lyndsey freaked out and ran away as fast as she could. As soon as she was out of sight, the panic attacks went away as soon as they started. The students all felt lingering feelings of misgivings as the adrenaline still pumped through them but they felt a lot better

"What was that?" Zach asked as he bent over and caught his breath.

"That girl was trying to freak Warren out. Jeez, what is wrong with these Val kids?" Nicole filled them in as if she knew what she was talking about.

"Lyndsey? But she always seemed so nice...really shy but nice," Layla said in the girl's defense, always trying to see the good in people. But she was having a hard time believing it herself as she tried to slow her heartbeat.

"Shy or anti-social psychopath? I mean you saw what she just did. She unleashed her powers in the middle of the parking lot for no reason."

They couldn't argue with Nicole's version of events. All they saw was Lyndsey talking with Warren and all of a sudden they had panic attacks.

"What was she talking to you about War?" Will asked his friend, concerned what the girl was trying to do.

"She was trying to tell me that Olivia and the 'Elite' were analyzing us and planning something. Not sure what else because she was acting suspicious and then attacked us with her power," Warren replied.

"Analyzing you? Why would she warn you about that? Olivia's Hero Support, she was just doing it for the lab reports we have to turn in on how to best help the Hero," Ethan interjected logically.

"She was taking notes. She has this mad crazy device that wrote in this awesome language. Langos Deesum?" Zach said, very confused and wondered if he was anywhere near close to what the proper name was.

"Lingua Deorum," Warren corrected the luminescent teen. "Yeah I know what you're talking about actually, she left a note behind by accident at lunch and it wasn't about the fight I'll tell you that much."

"What was it? And since when do you read secret languages?"

"My mom taught me since I was like five. Let's just say the note was about how she's very attracted to Lash and wonders inappropriate things about his stretching ability."

"Oh yeah, that sounds like her. Dude, she totally wants a threesome with you and Nickie. Told us point blank when she first met us. I'd try to hit that up if I were you."

Zach ended his lurid revelation with a wink, not thinking his actions through. He might have thought it was an awesome thing but Warren's girlfriend sure didn't.

Warren couldn't respond to Zach's slip up as he was slightly scandalized.

A sudden image of his girlfriend and the psychic entered his mind; he was not disgusted by the sight. He thought it would be quite erotic to have the pretty psychic and his girlfriend at the same time, both eager to be with him. Both polar opposites. His girlfriend a cool blonde and the darker free spirited and vibrant brunette made quite the exciting dichotomy.

He quickly recovered from the mental image and frowned, glaring at his friend as hard as he could.

"Zach, shut up."

That pleased his girlfriend enough for her to stop pouting and he was thankful for it.

Will was Warren's best friend and they shared a silent look to each other, telling each other that they thought the same thing with their respective girlfriends when confronted with the idea of a threesome. It was something they'd never admit out loud but Warren was glad he wasn't a completely terrible boyfriend if a golden boy like Will could fantasize about being with two girls at once.

The bus was finally ready and they all boarded quietly, still contemplating what they just went through.

As the bus lifted off, Warren wondered if his father was wrong to be worried about psychics if there were Supers who would make him feel things against his will.

Back in the library, Olivia smiled as she looked out the window and watched what had unfolded; she loved it when plans came together.

"You have that evil smirk on your face again," Dom told Olivia, knocking her out of her sense of accomplishment.

"Yeah I need to work on that. People know too easily when I'm doing dastardly things."

They both laughed at the joke although Dom sometimes worried if Olivia could ever go to the dark side.

"_If she ever does, God help us all_."

"So what else do we need to know about this plan?"

Most of the Elite had already left as they needed to catch the last buses leaving. Emma had been the first to leave because of student council obligations so Olivia felt it was OK to speak freely.

"Just one thing for now. You're going to be hearing some strange rumors tomorrow...just agree with them."

Kerry, Jonah, and Dom thought it was a weird request but agreed to it just the same.

"Dom, walk me to my car."

He did as she asked and they said goodbye to their fellow teammates as the two boys went to the buses.

Dom was awaiting for the psychic to tell him what she needed to.

"Dom I need you to know in order for my plan to work you will be hurt. Probably badly and it's going to hurt for a while."

There was a graveness in Olivia's voice that she rarely ever had so he knew she was making sure he knew what he was getting into. He wasn't sure what the hell she had planned and why it would cause so much pain but they had worked together long enough that he knew sometimes he had to take leaps of faith when it came to Olivia.

"I know Liv...I've been through hellish pain. We all have...but it can't hurt worse than being told you're not good enough."

Olivia nodded her head and agreed with him. Being called a Sidekick when she knew she had worked so hard to become a Hero was like a stab to the heart. That all of her hard work meant nothing at Sky High just because some ignorant backwards teacher said so.

Well Olivia knew her worth and she was not going to take Boomer and Sky High's low opinion of her or of any of the Elite because they had preconceived and ingrained notions of what they think Heroes should be.

The Elite would show them heroics.


	15. Chapter 15

**All recognizable Sky High characters, places, and events belong to Disney and its affiliates. I am making no money from this endeavor. As for any original content: Any likeness, similarities, and resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, and events are unintentional and purely coincidental.**

**If anyone wishes to volunteer to beta this fic, feel free to contact me.**

Time was a funny thing.

It was nothing but a man made measurement of one event to another. These events could be mundane to something that would change things forever. How people perceive time was a different matter all together. Sometimes it seemed as if time would not move, usually at school. Other times it seemed like it goes in a flash, usually when one needed it the most. Being that Emma Turner could stop and start time at will, she tended to take it for granted. She usually couldn't fathom how much could be done in mere moments because she could bend time for her benefit. What took others hours upon hours she could do in less than half the time; her powers limited to fifteen minute increments; more if she concentrated and didn't mind the drain. She needed to do three projects in a night? No problem, she stopped time and the next thing someone knew she was done and could go to a movie.

It's what allowed her to do so many extra-curriculars at the same time be apart of the Elite team of Valhalla, which demanded rigorous training. Time was nothing to someone who had as much as she wanted.

That's why she couldn't see Olivia's plan coming from a mile away. Olivia didn't have the advantage of doing things at her own pace, she had to work with time and deal with the time-stream as it came at her. So Olivia knew that value of mere moments and how timing was everything.

It really shouldn't have surprised Emma that Olivia could bring the world of Sky High into total chaos in a week. But she could be surprised at how Olivia could see how timing was essential when planning to bring down the regime. She knew it would take Warren at least fifteen minutes of standing in a long lunch line which she used to plant a note. She knew when it was a good idea to be at a certain place at a certain time in order for someone to hear something then to later relay it back to someone else.

It was all about timing...and opportunity.

That was what Olivia was waiting for, the opportunity to exact her plan for full effect.

As luck would have it, it came from Emma.

"Here's the flyer for the PTA schedule by the way. I forgot to give it to you yesterday at the library," Emma told Olivia as they flew to the school.

Olivia put her car into auto-pilot as she scanned the piece of paper. It was a garish orange and nothing more than a calendar of events for the PTA. Those meetings were for parents and teachers to come together and discuss issues concerning the school. Most Val parents were still on the East coast but it was something the school had to alert to every parent regardless if they could attend or not.

Olivia's parents were one of the few families that could attend. She took note of the schedule and it sent her into overdrive and her mind worked quickly; she knew what she had to do.

"Light bulb," Olivia stated calmly.

Emma raised her eyebrow, questioning what epiphany the psychic just had and worried what it had to do with the parent-teacher association.

"Should I be worried?"

"No, but I am going to need you to miss gym tomorrow."

"Why?"

"In order for my plan to work, I need you to not be in the gym tomorrow. Trust me."

Emma wanted to ask more questions. She wanted to know how a plan needed to work by not having her around. Many possibilities zoomed through her head; the most obvious one was that Olivia had plans that broke so many rules that as student council rep she would have to discipline the clairvoyant. This was not the first time Olivia had sent her away to give her 'plausible deniability.'"

"Please at least tell me that the gym will still be standing by Friday."

"I am 75% sure that the gym will not be effected by this plan."

That was a pretty high estimate for Olivia so Emma was happy to take it.

Olivia knew what Emma was assuming and she counted on it. She didn't like manipulating her best friend in such a way but it was for the greater good of the team.

"_She'll just have to deal with the fall out with Lyndsey. She'll get over it._"

They arrived at school and went their separate ways. It was something Olivia hoped would be rectified soon as she missed her morning gossip sessions with her best female friends. That day though, Olivia needed to keep Emma away from the gossip mill until the next day.

So when she arrived late to homeroom by more than twenty minutes, Dom asked where she had been.

"Oh I just needed to take care of something in the computer lab. No biggie."

Fortunately for her, Mr. Boy was not a hard-ass and let it slide.

* * *

Again, the day dragged on and on...

When they got to lunch they all gathered to eat together like they normally did. Emma looking frazzled, more so than usual.

"What's up?" Maddy asked the time bender.

"This freaking school, nothing seems to work right. The presentations for the PTA meeting have been eaten by a virus and none of the computers seem to be working. I've been in-and-out of the damn computer lab all morning trying to fix things. I haven't had a chance to breath. I'm also only here for a minutes to grab a bite and then I have to go back to the lab. Sorry guys but I got to jet."

Emma was in and out of the cafeteria in a blink of an eye and only Dom gave Olivia a look. He knew it probably had something to do with her master plan but couldn't see what the big picture could possibly be.

"So in case you cared Liv, everyone seems to think that Lyndsey is this diabolical power climber that is trying to get an edge over Peace and Stronghold. Apparently she tried to kill them with her brain in the parking lot yesterday and we told everyone 'that's so Lyndsey Chary.'," Kerry told Olivia.

She was pleased with the turn of events and that puzzled everyone even more.

"Also, you're a huge lesbo slag that's after Warren Peace."

That didn't please Olivia as much but she brushed it off because she didn't care about what Sky High students thought of her.

"I don't get it. Why help Lyndsey out? We're basically hyping her up and striking fear into the hearts of the Sky High supers. They're really freaked out about her; add in her mother's reputation they think that little door-mouse is the next big bad to beat. I saw her walk through the hall this morning and people parted for her like the red sea. It was crazy." Jonah added, completely ignoring the part about Olivia's sexual preference.

Fear was a powerful weapon in the fight against enemies. It helped knock the opponent off their balance and caused them to doubt themselves. Normally it was something Olivia relished in and would never help out a fellow super in such a way, especially not if that super was named Lyndsey Chary.

"Oh I feel like it was time to help out my fellow super."

The evil smirk on Olivia's face as she said that did not convince anyone she was genuine.

She saw how they were looking at her and added:

"OK, fine. You'll guys find out in all good time. It's best not to reveal things too early. We just need to get through to tomorrow."

"What happens tomorrow?"

"Save the Citizen...it's going to be pretty interesting."

Their eyebrows raised and wondered what the psychic could be planning; all they knew so far was that it involved Lyndsey, pain, and STC. Olivia was right; it was going to be interesting.

Baden then chose the perfect time to walk past them; as the healer got into Olivia's line of vision; she ignored the gaggle of females surrounding him and threw him an unassuming paper bag. His smiled lit up the room as he quickly dug into the bag and bit into the heavenly disks known as "Good job cookies."

"What the hell? Why does Bade get good job cookies? What did he do to deserve good job cookies?" Jonah asked jealously.

The Val girls that followed Baden around like a puppy knew better than to ask for a bite but the Sky High females were unaware of Olivia's famous baked goods; so when they asked Baden for a piece of deliciousness they were surprised to hear a growl from the dark haired teen. The girl backed off immediately, fearing Baden as she would a dangerous animal when its food was threatened.

"We'll explain it to you later," a random Val told the scared Sky High peer. Baden was content to eat and run; wherever he went his loyal fanclub followed.

"To answer your question...don't ask so many questions," Olivia replied to Jonah. She knew it'd only confuse them more but that's how she liked to operate.

"Good job cookies?" Lash asked, very confused by his new group of friends.

"When Olivia asks us to do something and we do a good job, we get cookies" Maddie explained to Lash as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

All the stretcher could do was laugh and accept the explanation as is. He liked his new set of friends and he was sure he'd get used to their peculiar behavior sooner or later. He knew that they, Olivia, was planning something big and normally he'd be afraid for his standing at school but they hadn't ask him to be apart of any of it, so he figured it wouldn't effect him.

"_Not like I'm going to be playing STC anytime soon," _he thought realistically. The way the game was set up, it was up to the reigning champions to pick who they were going against. On the first day of gym practicals, it looked like Stronghold had purposefully avoided looking at him; so Lash was prepared to sit out gym the rest of the year, which he didn't have a problem with. He might not grow to be the Hero his parents wanted him to be but it wasn't his fault if he wasn't picked.

Stronghold was going to hold the Homecoming incident against him and that was all there was to it. He preferred the cold shoulder to the possible damage the super strong teen could inflict upon him.

Layla Williams seemed to have no problem being in his presence because she walked right up to the group he was with, smiles and all.

"Hey guys! How's lunch going? Anyway, Olivia; did you get a chance to look over the proposals I sent over to you last night? Because I think..." the redhead pressed on, not really wanting to talk about how the Val kids liked lunch.

Olivia sighed and knew she'd have to deal with the plant elemental sooner or later. Emma wasn't even at lunch, due to her own plan.

"_Damn, foiled by my own petard_."

It wasn't that she disliked Layla but Olivia did have a hard time dealing with people's whose ideals didn't match their actions.

"Layla, before you go any further," interrupting Layla mid-rant about the establishment. "May I be blunt with you?"

The Elite team flinched and knew a massacre was about to happen. Olivia always spoke her mind and the fact she actually posed what she about to say in the form of a question; meant it was going to be exceptionally brutal. They couldn't sit and watch the carnage.

"We got to go," Dom said as he left, taking the lead. The others followed suit and they dragged Lash away as they knew he didn't know any better.

Soon it was only Olivia and Layla at the table. The red head got a bit nervous as the sudden exodus and wondered what the psychic could possibly tell her.

"Sur...sure," she stuttered out. What else could she say?

"I think it's great you want to make strides and changes for those at the social bottom heap at the school...but you aren't going to be the one to lead the revolution. You don't have what it takes to change the hearts of Super community."

Layla flinched at Olivia's blunt words and was rendered speechless for a moment. She got her bearings and tried to defend herself,

"Well I think that's a matter of opinion..."

"No it's not. You've had two years and counting to try and you haven't done anything. I think it's time for you to accept that you're completely out of your league and ineffectual."

Olivia mentioning her failure hit something hard in Layla. She knew the psychic's words were true; she hadn't accomplished anything in her time at Sky High. No one wanted to listen to her and now she was swallowing the hard truth of why.

"You're not effective because no one wants to hear about Sidekick rights from someone who's been deemed a Hero; especially not other Sidekicks. You don't know what it's like to be them."

"That's not true, in my fresh..."

"You were a Sidekick for what? All of two months before they transferred you? And you boycotted power placement, you were never told who you weren't good enough to be a Hero. Again, Sidekicks don't want to hear about how their rights are being trampled on by the establishment by someone who is a part of it. They are very aware of their place; trust me, you don't need to keep telling them it's not fair. All you're doing is coming off as some condescending preacher in the pulpit, telling them what's best for them when you don't know what it's like to be them. You can't talk about struggles you've never had. What you need to do is find someone, a Sidekick, that wants to prove that they can be more than just their powers. You've been barking up the wrong tree."

"And who's tree should I be barking up?" with a slight tremor in her voice. She was getting upset quickly but Olivia hardened her heart because she knew the other girl needed to hear it.

"Well for one, not mine. I know you got it in your head that I'm sort of second coming for the Sidekicks because I don't believe in what Boomer is doing but you have me all wrong. I believe in separating the Sidekicks and the Heroes. There's a reason the Sidekick position exists and it didn't start out because someone who had the more offensive power told them to be one. It started out when a young kid wanted to be a part of something great but wasn't able to be on the same level. From there people naturally sorted themselves into what we now know as the Sidekick/Hero team. Secondly, stop asking other Heroes to get on your side. They aren't going to do it. What you're asking them is to basically give up what makes them special."

"That is not what I'm trying to do."

"Might not be what you're trying to do but it is what you're doing. You're asking Heroes to say that Sidekicks are just as special and in doing that making no one special; and that's just irrational not to mention exceedingly naïve. Layla, wake up. I know that you want to believe the best in people but sometimes there's a selfish bastard underneath their selfish exterior. And by sometimes I mean most of the time."

"No, you're wrong. People just need to see that the system is broken..."

"Layla, they know it's wrong. They just don't care."

"Then what am I supposed to do? Just give up and let Hero Support be treated as second class citizens?"

"First off you need to actually talk to Sidekicks..."

"I do talk to them! I talk to them all the time."

"No you talk _**at **_them. There's a difference. Have you ever asked if they want things to change?"

Layla wanted to argue that point but her protest died before it even formed. Olivia had a point and horror filled her as the psychic's words sunk in. In all her conversations with Sidekicks about changing policy, she never asked what they thought. She only assumed that because she knew it was wrong then they knew it as well. She never asked how they felt about it because she was so sure she was in the right. She never thought that her righteous anger was ignored because they knew she didn't know what she was talking about, not really.

"Layla, you're a good person with good intentions. But if you want things to change for Sidekicks then you need to ask them what they want changed; because frankly their opinions are the only ones that matter in this. And if it turns out they don't want to or don't have the guts to change things then you have to respect their wishes. They have to want the change too, do you understand?"

Layla nodded, not trusting herself to speak because she knew if she did then all that would come out was a disappointed and broken voice. Olivia had laid out her failure, baring her to the cold hard truth. It was a bitter pill to swallow and she had no idea where to go from there.

"Think about what I've said and let Sidekicks have their voice. You'll be surprised by what they have to say. I would also suggest talking to more than just the Sidekicks as well. There are more than just them who are falling between the cracks," Olivia stated cryptically as she got up to leave because the bell ending lunch rang. She left the redhead to her thoughts.

The clairvoyant crossed Dom as they prepared to walk to class together. They both saw Layla quickly exit the lunchroom, desperately trying to hold back the tears until she got to a more secluded area.

"Hope you left some pieces intact," her team leader commented.

"Yeah I feel like I just stomped on a bunny...but she needed to hear it."

"You wouldn't have told her whatever you did otherwise; although you might want to be on the lookout. I'm sure Stronghold isn't going to take news that someone made his girlfriend cry very well."

"Yeah...I'm kind of counting on that. Mind playing bodyguard this afternoon?"

"Since when do you need a bodyguard? I know that Stronghold has super strength but that's never stopped you from..."

"I know that I don't need you to protect me...but I don't want others to know that."

"Ah. Part of the plan?"

"Always."

* * *

**Later that day…**

Just as Olivia predicted, Stronghold came straight for her after school. He didn't know exactly what the psychic had told Layla but all he knew was that his girlfriend was very upset and apparently thought she was some kind of failure.

The others in their group were just as agitated because the redhead was their friend and they wanted to know what made her so upset.

Warren was there to support his friend, he was angry as well because he saw the hippy like an annoying younger sister. While he hardly ever saw things eye to eye with Layla, that didn't mean others were allowed to make her cry. The sane part of Warren also escorted Will through Sky High as to make sure the super strong teen didn't do anything rash that could get him expelled.

"Viridian!" Will shouted across the hallway as Olivia was putting her books into her locker. The Elite were standing with her, wondering what Stronghold's problem was.

Will walked swiftly towards the clairvoyant, his body language and facial expressions clearly stating that he was ready to be aggressive.

The Elite were surprised that Olivia took a submissive stance and acted as if she was truly afraid of Will; only Dom knew it was an act as he remembered her request from earlier.

To an outsider, Dom stepping in front of the supposed scared Olivia was valiant and chivalrous. It only further confused the rest of the Val student population.

"Is there a problem Stronghold?" Dom asked, perfectly knowing the answer.

"Yeah, I have a problem with that...psychic!"

The air in the hallway suddenly got tense as they heard the venom in Will's voice. They were all aware of the tradition of the Stronghold family of being anti-psychic but to hear the discrimination in real life made them very uncomfortable. They weren't about to come and defend Olivia even though they knew bigotry was wrong.

"Hey! I suggest you think before you speak," Dom warned.

Will was breathing heavy and adrenaline was pumping through him. A distant part of him knew that he needed to calm down but he felt as if his worst nightmare was coming true; there was a threat and he felt helpless to stop it. So he was going to try to use intimidation to neutralize the threat.

"I don't have any problem with you, my problem is with her."

"Hey as far as I can tell, your problem is that you're coming at a female all wrong so I suggest you back up."

Warren saw the situation getting out of hand quickly. Olivia was very quiet and seemed to be genuinely scared of his friend. Seeing as the girl was only five-foot-two and half Warren's size, Will had to know that Olivia wouldn't be able to stand up to his superior strength.

"Will, calm down," Warren told his friend, putting a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

That was enough to pull Will out of his rage as it was a rare occurrence the pyro would initiate contact.

"Fine. Olivia, what's your problem? What did Layla ever do to you? She's been nothing but nice to you and you go and make her cry?"

"Hey, I didn't mean to make her cry. She asked my opinion and I gave it to her, it's not my fault she can't handle the truth," Olivia said to defend herself.

It wasn't what Will wanted to hear and he made an aggressive buck towards the girl and Dom had no choice but to push Sky High's golden child away from his friend.

Lash soon came to see what the crowd had gathered for and saw that Stronghold's group was on one side and the Val kids on the other. He didn't like the mean looks he was sending Olivia and decided to get in between the situation.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Lash asked he got in-between the angry super and the psychic.

"Oh, of course the resident school villain would come to the rescue of someone like her," Will sneered.

"Will!" Layla shouted as she turned the corner in time to see what was going on.

The Stronghold heir suddenly stopped when he saw his girlfriend, worried that she needed his help.

Her eyes were still red and puffy from crying but she donned an angry look on her face and it was directed straight at him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Ummm...," he struggled to come up with an explanation but the truth was that he wasn't sure what he was about to do. All he knew was that someone had hurt someone he loved and he needed to act.

"He was just leaving...weren't you Stronghold?" Dom stated.

Will gave Dom an ugly look but knew he had to get away from the situation and comfort his girlfriend.

The other students went about their own business as they saw no fight was about to ensue and they had to get outside to catch the bus.

The Elite left the Sky High students to deal with their own, still questioning what just happened.

"Are you ok Layla?" Will's demeanor doing a complete one-eighty.

"I'm fine, what are you doing? Were you just threatening Olivia?"

"No...not really."

Layla's gaze burned into his, waiting for him to explain himself.

"I was just trying to figure out what she did to you. You were so upset after lunch and you wouldn't talk to me."

"Oh Will. She didn't do anything besides tell me something I really didn't want to hear. Mostly about how much of a failure I've been for the Hero Support cause..."

"Layla, you're not a failure. She doesn't know what she's talking about. No one cares more about the welfare of those in Hero Support more than you do..."

"No she's right Will. I know I care the most, that's part of the problem."

"I don't get it."

"It's fine. Just don't blame Olivia for this ok? She opened my eyes to something I didn't want to see and now that I got the disappointment and feeling sorry for myself out of my system, I'm ready to do it right. Also, I don't need you getting into fights for me. I can take care of my own problems."

Will had no idea what Layla was talking about but he was willing to do whatever she wanted if it made her happy. And he slightly flinched at her last statement. It wasn't the first time she's admonished him for stepping in and fighting battles for her. He could never explain to her that no matter how strong she was, she was one of the strongest people he knew; his first instinct would always be to protect her.

"I'm glad that's settled. You should probably apologize to Olivia; she didn't deserve to be bombarded like that."

Will made a face that stated apologizing to the psychic was the very last thing he wanted to do but he could never say "no" to Layla.

* * *

**Outside...**

As soon as they were out of earshot of nosy students who wanted to know what the confrontation was about, Lash asked Olivia if she was alright.

The psychic was touched that Lash had cared enough to ask. Not only that but he was willing to step in if things turned physical. She sensed the protective feelings he was giving off and while she didn't need his help, he didn't know that and it endeared her to him even further.

"Oh it's nothing I couldn't have handled but I appreciate the gesture. He's just a clueless boy in love who saw his girlfriend was unhappy and I admit, I was the cause of it."

"Yeah, what happened at lunch if you don't mind me asking?"

"She wanted some help on her crusade and I let her know that she'd been going about it all wrong. A lot of it wasn't something she was ready to hear though. She's a strong girl though, Stronghold will find out his girlfriend isn't a damsel in distress that needs saving though."

"Yeah that's heroes for you thought. Always think someone needs saving."

"Well you were pretty heroic yourself back there," Olivia reminded him, smiling very prettily.

Lash fought down a blush as he realized what he had done. He wasn't sure what was going through his mind, as he did not want to get into confrontations with Stronghold. He knew very well the shorter teen could do a lot of damage to his person. Despite all of that, he couldn't stand to think of Olivia getting hurt, especially from someone who could do as much damage as Will Stronghold.

"It was nothing..." he started to say.

"It means a lot to me though."

They both smiled shyly to each other and Olivia hoped that it would be a good opening to invite Lash for dinner.

Before she could open her mouth with the invitation, Will Stronghold and his gang of misfits appeared before her.

Lash instinctively protected the psychic with his body and Olivia took the opportunity to inhale the stretcher's purely masculine scent. It was a mouthwatering spicy scent that sent tingles through her body and she cursed the day Will Stronghold was born for ruining her opening.

"IjustwanttosayI'msorry," Will said as quickly as possible to get the ordeal over with.

The Elite waited with bated breath, wondering what kind of verbal smackdown Olivia was about to unleash. They were baffled at what the psychic did.

"Oh it's totally like fine. I know that I can let my mouth run away from me and sometimes I don't think before I speak. Plus I'm like totally sore from all the running I had to do in gym before lunch so I was kind of cranky. I apologize if I hurt your feelings."

"What the fuck Olivia?" Maddie said disbelieving her friend would utter such rubbish. Dom placed a hand on her shoulder and when she looked over she saw that her team leader was shaking his head subtly. She instantly quieted, getting the hint that Olivia was playing the other students.

The plant manipulator beamed at Olivia's confession.

"_I knew she wasn't trying to hurt my feelings just to hurt them. She just wanted to be honest with me the best way she knew how_." she thought. Out loud she said,

"It's fine. I know how tiring gym can be and I did interrupt your lunch. So I'm sorry too."

"I'm glad we could sort this out. Do you want to come over for dinner?"

It pained Olivia to give away her dinner invite to the girl but she knew she had to get information that the others weren't able to find. Kerry and Jonah hadn't come up with anything from the night before and she knew she had to get something quickly.

"I'd love too!" Layla said excitedly.

"It's vegan Wendesday, I hope that won't be a problem."

"No, that's perfect. I'm a vegetarian but I always wanted to try vegan options."

"Great! I got to leave now but we have dinner at six and just facebook message me if you have any allergies, OK?"

"Yeah, that's perfect. I can't wait!"

Will didn't like that the psychic and his girlfriend were getting so chummy but it was completely out of his hands and he wondered if this was something he should mention to his parents.

Lash and Olivia said their awkward goodbyes, both knowing an opportunity was just missed.

"_I will invite you to the next dinner, Lash. I just need to topple the school hierarchy first_."

She texted her mom, alerting the older psychic that they were going to have a guest over and Olivia mentally prepared herself for hopefully an informative dinner.

**A/N: I want to give a shout out to Reozul for the nice review and astute observation of my story so far. I want to assure him/her that I don't plan on being flippant about Sky High the entire story. One of the drawbacks of writing fanfic is that readers can't always see the big picture/end game and they see plot holes before an author gets a chance to fill them. Please be patient because I will address why Sky High has its system and for a hint; it mostly has to do with the older generation of Supers. So think of comic Supers in the beginning (Batman and Superman) and compare them to more modern Heroes (Teen Titans and X-Men). It's going to take a bit, like three more chapters but these issues will be addressed. I've always believed there's a method to the madness and the older generation Supers will have their say and defend themselves. **

**Thanks for reading and reviewing. Hope everyone continues to enjoy the story.**


	16. Chapter 16 pt 1

**All recognizable Sky High characters, places, and events belong to Disney and its affiliates. I am making no money from this endeavor. As for any original content: Any likeness, similarities, and resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, and events are unintentional and purely coincidental.**

**If anyone wishes to volunteer to beta this fic, feel free to contact me.**

Mrs. Viridian knew her daughter was up to something. It was not abnormal for her teen to invite friends over for dinner but it was if the guest in question was an upstanding citizen and activist.

Layla Williams was a bright, bubbly, and loquacious girl; perfect manners and dedicated to animal rights and the environment. She was the type of friend Cistena wished her daughter would make; someone who held beliefs about conservation and minimizing their carbon footprint.

So as the redheaded girl praised the grilled portabella mushroom steak and the Moroccan cuscus and was completely genuine, the elder Viridian female's senses were on high alert. While Olivia was raised an environmentalist and was conscious about such matters, the younger psychic did have an irrational disdain for "hippies." Not just those who talked about love and peace but those who had ethics and scruples. Cistena didn't need to use her powers to know the elemental had said qualities in spades.

Mrs. Viridian herself didn't have many reservations when it came to getting what she wanted but she did admire those whose values didn't include screwing people over.

"Mrs. Viridian, this meal is so delicious. I didn't know your family was vegan Olivia," Layla commented.

"We're not, we're 'flexitarian.'"

"Oh? What's that?"

"It means we generally have an all plant based diet but will eat dairy, eggs, fish, and meat on an 'as needed' basis…or for special occasions such as school starting or birthdays. When I was at Valhalla, the rigorous training I went through didn't make veganism or even vegetarianism a healthy option. Basically we're vegan unless our body tells us differently."

"And any meat and animal product we do eat is ethically raised, collected, or slaughtered," Cistena added.

"Wow, I think that's really interesting. And I love your house. It's so different and unique from the rest of the neighborhood. I'd only been to the Elysian subdivision a couple of times to do projects with some of the students from Sky High."

"Thank you Layla. I designed the house myself. Everything is either reclaimed or recycled. I think it's out duty to preserve our environment."

"I couldn't agree more. I've been trying to instate a recycling program at school but I'm continually rebuffed."

"What's the hold up?" Olivia asked, engaging in the conversation.

"Well Principal Powers says they don't have it in the budget to do a recycling program because it'd be an extra expense to not only provide containers but to charter a bus or something to bring the recyclables to the plant from the school. She then went on to say that it's a recession and I felt bad because I know there needs to be cuts but…"

"Have you tried a peer run program?" Olivia interrupted her, not wanting to hear how guilty she felt for trying to do the right thing.

"What do you mean?"

"Instead of putting the burden on the administration, have you tried to get other students involved? The containers don't need to be anything fancy. We could have a decorating contest for old trash cans or something. And I have a flying car and so do some Sky High students. If we get them in on the project, maybe they wouldn't mind carrying the cans etc…to the plant."

Excitement buzzed in Layla as Olivia provided a plausible alternative to the recycling program at school. She could tell the psychic was used to getting things done and she felt a little silly by how she reacted before. Olivia was brusque and a bit tactless but the psychic was a go-getter.

"_She only told me those things because I needed to hear them_," Layla rationalized to herself.

Layla had been frustrated for a while with the lack of progress she'd made with Hero Support rights but with Olivia's help, she understood why she wasn't getting anywhere. She couldn't wait to discuss Olivia's thoughts on how she could tackle the HS issues.

"Viridian Dynamic would also love to help support an environmental program at your school Layla," Mr. Viridian said. "We're always glad to help local projects such as a recycling. We're also starting a community garden to help with rising food costs. These days it's getting harder for people to get fresh vegetables due to shipping costs and lack of nutrition education. We could always use more volunteer help."

"I would love to!" Layla exclaimed excitedly. "I think Viridian Dynamic's help would be a great boost as I can't see many Sky High students volunteering."

"Might want to make some sort of competition out of it. Sometimes you have to trick people into doing the right thing. I know the Valhalla students would be all over it if there was some kind of prize involved," Olivia suggested.

Layla wasn't sure how much she agreed with "tricking" her fellow students but could see the value of making a competition out of recycling to get more people involved. The rest of dinner went along the same line, Layla felt at home; talking about her causes to people who cared.

The two teenage girls rested in the psychic's room, letting their dinner settle.

"Oh my God, Olivia your mom's avocado fudge was to die for. I had no idea you could make vegan fudge from avocadoes."

"Yeah it's pretty delish. All my desserts are vegan, don't tell anyone," she said as an afterthought. Not that she thought anyone would actually turn away her confections, but some people just weren't comfortable with animal by-product alternatives.

Layla nodded her head and understood.

"I totally understand; you won't believe how hard it is to get Will to try vegetarian dishes. He's a total picky eater and doesn't like to try anything new."

Olivia didn't comment but she could see Stronghold being a little coward about experimenting with food. He seemed like the "white bread" kind of teen.

"Well he seems like a nice guy, how did you two meet?"

Layla beamed at the memory of how she met Will; always glad to talk about him she told the clairvoyant how she met him in kindergarten and the lima bean incident.

"_Oh God, please tell me something useful soon_," Olivia thought desperately to herself, growing bored with the redhead babbling on and on.

"I think it's cool that you two have known each other for so long and then fell in love. I think who you fall in love with should be your best friend," Olivia commented, being completely honest.

That warmed Layla from the inside because she totally agreed with Olivia. There was something magical about being in a relationship with someone she knew inside and out before they introduced physical aspects. She trusted Will completely with her heart and their years of friendship justified that.

The love and warmth coming from Layla was making Olivia sick, so the psychic tried to steer the conversation to something useful.

"Yeah, it's cute how protective he is of you."

It was a blatant lie and her strong female side raged against her at the thought of thinking a male needed to protect girls but Olivia wasn't above faking beliefs in order to get things done.

Layla frowned a bit at Olivia's statement because the feminist in her knew she didn't need the protection.

"Will has always been protective, even when I don't want or need it."

"_Bingo_" the psychic thought to herself.

"It was kind of crazy how he confronted me over the whole thing. Not sure what his plan was."

"He wouldn't have hurt you; he's very old fashioned that way. Even when he was fighting Royal Pain, he hesitated hitting her even though the manipulative skank deserved it."

Olivia was aware of the technopath; the villainess was all over the news, as was the whole Sky High homecoming incident. What the psychic didn't know was the apparent jealousy the redhead had over the imprisoned super.

"Probably not but it was kind of valiant how he wanted to defend your honor. You know how guys are; they need to save us little females."

"It's frustrating sometimes though. He thinks I'm this frail little damsel in distress all the time and that just because he thinks nothing can hurt him it means everyone is made of glass."

This was the direction Olivia was hoping the conversation would go.

"And yeah he's right, pretty much nothing can hurt that thick skull of his but that doesn't mean I can't take care of myself."

"_Shit_"

Layla just confirmed everything Olivia was worried about. Stronghold was going to be insanely tough opponent to defeat and now she could only hope to figure out a way to slow him down or…

"And it's not like he doesn't need saving himself sometimes. I mean the summer of our sophomore year, I had to save him from drowning and perform CPR because he doesn't know how to swim. I keep telling him he needs to learn but he's all 'I don't need to learn, I'll just fly away' which doesn't work all the time; especially when you get dragged down by an undertow and get disorientated and fly towards the bottom of the ocean instead of out. And…"

"Wait, hold up. Say that again," Olivia demanded, really interested in what Layla was saying.

"One summer I had to save Will from drowning. We were at the beach and he doesn't know how to swim but he can tread a bit, plus the whole flying thing. But he got caught in an undertow and got confused as to which way was up. So instead of flying away to safety, he went deeper into the ocean. He started to freak out and then lost consciousness. I swam him to safety and performed CPR and saved him. You'd think that would make him more cautious and respect the ocean more, not to mention know he's not the only one who can save somebody, but no he's too hard headed. I love him though."

Olivia had stopped paying attention at that point as her mind whirled a mile a minute. She knew that inviting Layla to dinner would pay off. She knew exactly what she had to do.

"Light bulb" she said to herself as she was prone to do when she realized something.

"What?" Layla asked, wondering what the psychic had said so quietly.

"Ummm…the light bulbs are all energy efficient in my house. I wonder if the school could benefit from them as well."

"That's a great idea! I think that…"

Layla went on about the environmental impact of energy efficient bulbs and Olivia pretended to care. She was quite happy with herself over her own cleverness and now she just needed to set things in motion the next day. She would turn Sky High's world upside down and they wouldn't know what hit them.

* * *

Olivia woke up with a bounce in her step and a song in her heart the next morning. It was the day she was going to rock Sky High's world. She knew it was going to be an eventful day so she made sure she stretched and got very limber before she went to school.

She picked up Emma and Carl, both worried about the manic grin Olivia wore. When they questioned her, all she said was,

"Come on guys, can't a girl just be happy?"

"Not you," Emma said sagely. Her anxiety about what her best friend had planned for the day grew with each passing moment. Her younger brother had no clue what was going on but wondered if he should be worried. He and the other freshmen that would have gone to Val weren't subjected to the older Val student's punishment at STC the day before since all he had was the Sky High uniform; but that didn't mean Boomer wouldn't punish the entire Val student body for Olivia's future shenanigans.

"Fine, I'm happy because soon everything will be fixed and all will be as it should be."

"Am I going to regret skipping gym today?"

"The ends justify the means."

"That was not comforting in the least bit."

* * *

**Meanwhile on a bus not too far away…**

"Will, her house is amazing. I could only hope to own a house with such a small carbon footprint one day. And her mom is this amazing cook; I had the best vegan meal last night. And they gave me a list of awesome vegan restaurants that we could try out. Her room is so cool too. She has these super soft fair trade organic cotton sheets in a really pretty blue color and she possibly an unhealthy obsession of Anderson Cooper but the best part is she going to help me with the recycling program. And her mom made this awesome fudge out of…"

Will wanted to be happy for his girlfriend but could only feel dread at how Layla fawned over her new friend. He didn't understand how she could go from having the psychic make her cry to having her be her new best friend. He especially resented Olivia giving Layla new places to try out where he probably couldn't eat the food.

Warren listened to his friend's excited babble over the psychic and he couldn't believe there was someone who was just as big a hippy as Layla. From what he could gather, the psychic was a vegan. Olivia seemed even less than a threat than he started to suspect she was as his preconceived notions of those who didn't eat meat emerged. Layla couldn't hurt a fly and rarely used her powers offensively. All Olivia could do was lift information from him and she wasn't very good at it since she thought he was her fellow classmate.

Olivia would soon teach him that looks could be deceiving and that he shouldn't assume things about people.

* * *

The psychic was so excited about her plan that the morning flew by in a flash. It was time for gym and the others were anticipating a grand event. They were confused when the first several fights went on as it had the last time. Warren and Will fought and won.

Lather, rinse and repeat.

They were starting to suspect there was no plan until Olivia called out to Will and Warren as they contemplated who their next challengers would be.

"Hey, how about fighting some Valhalla students?"

The gym quieted as they were surprised the Sidekick psychic was asking for her fellow Val students to fight their strongest supers.

Warren and Will exchanged looks, silently asking each other if it was ok.

They sized up the students and Will didn't think it would be a problem.

"Alright, if that's what you want…ummm," Will contemplated whom he should pick, trying to be as fair as possible.

"How about Lyndsey and Baden?"

Will was even further confused and Warren was a little miffed that the psychic would suggest the girl that attacked him the other day.

"I mean…unless you're scared or something…They are powerful **heroes **after all. Hand picked by **Sonic Boom**," Olivia stressed, trying to control the disdain in her voice.

The other Val students kept quiet as they knew Olivia was up to something. They knew better than to contradict the clairvoyant as she had a nasty habit of exacting revenge; they were convinced that what was unfolding before them was the fruit of her vindictive nature.

Warren thought Olivia was personally attacking him and insinuating he wouldn't be able to fight Lyndsey after what happened. He hated that the hormone manipulator had made him lose control like he did and wasn't able to fight back for a moment. He was going to redeem himself and prove that he was stronger than what the black girl could force upon him.

"We accept," Warren said gruffly before Will could make a decision.

The super strong teen had a bad feeling about what transpired but couldn't see what it would hurt.

Lyndsey looked as if she was about to throw up and Baden wasn't paying attention because a random Sky High floozy was giving him a shoulder massage.

The neurotransmitter controller froze in her spot and wondered what the hell Olivia was up to. She got her answer when the psychic gleefully asked her with as much malice as she could.

"What's the matter Lyndsey? You **are** a hero right? You should be able to fight them off, no problem **right**?"

Lyndsey looked around to see if anyone would help her but found no one. Emma was conveniently absent and the others were like Olivia, slightly bitter she was deemed a Hero when at Valhalla she was a Sidekick. It wasn't like it was her fault, not really. She didn't ask to be a Hero, it's not her fault how Sky High picked who was Hero and who was a Sidekick. She enjoyed the brief and subtle rise in her stock. At the moment though, it didn't seem worth it to enter the ring with two much more powerful supers with no real experience. She only hoped they saw that she wasn't an adept fighter and go easy on her.

Seeing the dark look the pyro was giving her, she didn't think she'd be so lucky. She briefly considered refusing to fight on grounds of pacifism...but her brush with Warren and Will the day before had her painted as someone itching to fight; something she was sure her former friend knew. Lyndsey should have known better than to get involved in anything the clairvoyant was tied to. If she refused to fight she'd just look weak and never be able to live it down. If she fought the reigning champions, then people couldn't fault her if she lost...at least that's what she hoped.

Anger formed in the pit of her stomach, causing her to become bitter and resentful. Olivia had her trademark smirk, usually reserved for a plan coming into fruition and when she was being underhanded. Lyndsay was angry but she'd never be able to express that anger. She was never assertive and could never gather the courage to let her feelings out. Passionique was notorious for letting her feelings get the better of her, it caused those around her to lose control and chaos reigned. So Lyndsey taught herself to ball those emotions down and pretend they didn't exist. She wished she could do the same with fear but every other emotion was tightly coiled inside her, never to be let out.

Lyndsey looked to where Baden sat, a pang of hurt flashed in her as she saw her crush surrounded by girls fawning over him. He never seemed to see her and she wished she had the courage to talk to him. Her only condolence in the situation was that he was forced to work with her and she had high hopes that he would notice her.

She was disappointed when Baden came down to the arena and didn't say a word to her; he didn't speak to her while they geared up or the mere moments before the match started and the whistle blew. All Baden seemed interested in was waving to the crowd as his fan club yelled words of encouragement.

Warren wasted no time in throwing a barrage of fireballs at her. She wasn't totally useless in battle, Valhalla taught everyone basic hand to hand combat. Her talent lay in evasive maneuvers and agility. She was able to dodge most of them with ease but Warren was relentless. She tried to push her powers on to him, manipulate his adrenal glands and cause his fight or flight instinct to go into overdrive, attempting to manipulate him towards flight.

The fire elemental slightly stumbled with the onslaught of foreign feelings but he pushed through them, not willing to let his body dictate what he was capable of. Knowing it was from Lyndsey made it easier to deal with because he knew it was something that had a source and not his body betraying him. He decided to save his strength and go after the girl directly instead of using his powers.

He would normally never hit a girl, especially in anger but he was in a special situation. He knew villainy knew no gender and therefore he had to be able to fight anyone, male or female. Will had the luxury of being picky because his powers made him invulnerable and he had the ability to fly. Warren's teammate could basically run from a fight and not suffer consequences. He on the other hand, could possibly be killed or maimed if he turned his back on an enemy. So he struck hard at the female super and she went flying across the arena. He didn't think he hit her that hard but it was becoming apparent to him quickly that she didn't have any real one-on-one training. She was good at dodging but as he kept attacking her and she was unable to fight back, he let up his assault and did one last heavy throw; she landed on a bench and she was out for the count. The girl barely moved and Warren took that as a sign she gave up.

She was not the challenging opponent he thought she would be. He felt like he just fought a freshman that had no idea what they were doing. He was slightly confused at the turn of events.

He saw that the other Val student was having a bit more luck with battling Will, as his doppelganger seemed to be adept at fighting. Will normally fought one-on-one with male opponents to make the sparing more evenly matched. In cases like Larry, he didn't mind flying around off the bat because the rock shifter posed a challenge even while in flight. The others that were limited to the ground, he reserved flying because if he always just flew over challengers then the matches would be a lot shorter. He also chose to fight in person because he wanted to improve his own skills through practice.

Sometimes during fights, people would get hurt. While Will tried not to use his full strength against foes that he wasn't sure could take a hit, there were still times where he would accidentally punch or swing with more force than he meant to.  
So when he hit Baden square in the face with more than half of his strength and heard an audible crack, he quickly said he was sorry and only hoped that he hadn't broken anything too badly.

Baden's jaw and swung loose on the healers head, clearly broken. They were surprised when the broken area shimmered a light blue and his mandible went back into place by itself.

They found out that not only did Baden heal others but he could instantaneously heal himself. That gave Will the confidence to fight with all his might because he knew he couldn't permanently hurt the Val male. The fight was soon over when all Will had to do was give one good solid punch and Baden was out of the game. Both Sky High males made their way to the spiked pit and saved the citizen before it lowered to its fake death.

"Well color me impressed, some Heroes you have there Coach Boomer," Olivia said sarcastically.

She waited for him to take the bait because if he didn't then her plan was shot to hell. Fortunately for her, she was a great judge of character and Boomer was as petty as she thought him to be.

"Hey, the Sky High heroes have won. Don't blame me if Valhalla doesn't know how to teach its students."

Hook, line, and sinker.

Boomer's scathing remarks about Valhalla's teaching methods set off a spark. Each Val student stood up at once, crying out about how wrong Boomer was.

"You don't know what you're talking about; a real Val Hero would kick your arses any day!" Kerry shouted.

The gym erupted in a dull roar and Boomer used his powers to tell them to quiet down.

"Coach Boomer, these facilities are inadequate and your tutelage is severely lacking when it comes to the level of combat we're used to. And when I say 'we', I mean the real Heroes at Valhalla. Not the posers you picked on the fallacy that powers equal heroics," Olivia explained in a calm and pleasant voice, as if she were merely stating obvious facts to a clueless student.

"Now listen here missy…"

"I propose a challenge. Your two reigning champions against two of our own Heroes like Maddie or Gabe…unless you're too afraid your precious Stronghold and Peace can't hold it together."

The Val students were surprised that she didn't volunteer Dom as he was the leader of the Elite.

Boomer was livid at the psychic's insubordination and his own spiteful streak shone through.

"No, how about _you_go in the arena. If you're so confident that powers don't mean anything then how about you bring it on…unless the Sidekick is afraid that the Sky High champs will put her in her place."

Olivia's face remained stoic as she didn't want to let anyone know what he was up to.

"Fine, me and Maddie…"

"Oh no, not another Hero. Pick a Valhalla Sidekick. Then we'll see who's right."

It was almost too easy.

"Fine…I pick…"Olivia looked around, pretending she was actually thinking of who to pick.

"Dom. It'll be me and Dom against Stronghold and Peace."

"Fine, gear up and get to the floor."

**A/N: I didn't want to overwhelm you guys with an 8k+ word chapter so I split it up into two. Thanks for everyone who review, fav, or follow. I really appreciate it all. Enjoy!**


	17. Chapter 16 pt 2

**All recognizable Sky High characters, places, and events belong to Disney and its affiliates. I am making no money from this endeavor. As for any original content: Any likeness, similarities, and resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places, and events are unintentional and purely coincidental.**

**If anyone wishes to volunteer to beta this fic, feel free to contact me.**

Warren and Will were very mystified at the turn of events. They had never fought against Sidekicks before and they couldn't believe that Boomer had lowered himself enough to be baited by a student. They looked at each other and both were in silent agreement. They couldn't in good conscious fight full throttle against Sidekicks. They appreciated the thought that powers weren't everything but they were both aware of the two they were fighting's powers. What could the Val students really use against the two champions of Sky High?

Will was very suspicious of Olivia, his father's warning rang through his head but he just couldn't see what a threat the psychic could be in the arena.

As she made her way down to the arena, Lash had caught up and stopped her. He went down a few steps so they were eye to eye.

"Liv," the stretcher said, she slightly melted at the nickname. Coming from him it sounded more endearing than from her Val friends.

"You don't have to do this to prove a point, Stronghold is stronger than you can imagine. I don't want you to get hurt, so I can tell Boomer I'll stand in..."

Olivia was touched that Lash wanted to protect her but she had to stop his line of thought before he ruined everything. The elastic super had a one track mind at the moment so she did something she had wanted to do for a while and thought it was the perfect time to execute it.

Lash was rendered speechless as the psychic suddenly kissed him, with everyone watching they also stunned.

Olivia was lost in a sea of emotions and sensations. Lash's mind was a kaleidoscope of color, fun and swirling about like a tempest. His mind was bright and slightly chaotic; he was more heroic and chivalrous than he thought he was; his attempt to take her place was proof of that. There was a dark spot in his mind though, it was cold and unyielding. She saw that it was his guilt for his past actions; actions he wasn't sure he could ever live down or atone for. It threatened to take over the good part of him, to make him forget that once upon a time he had hopes to becoming a Hero before his own doubt took over and led him to a twisted path.

She promised him silently that she would help him chase the dark away.  
Lash wasn't sure what was happening for a few moments after Olivia kissed him unexpectedly. All he could focus on was how warm he felt everywhere and how perfectly she fit in his arms. He felt a soft presence in his mind, like invisible butterflies were flying around his mind. The usual cloud that haunted his thoughts seemed to disappear as an unknown hope filled him. He wasn't sure why or even how, but he felt that everything was going to be OK.

Olivia stopped the kiss and enjoyed Lash's presence as she put her forehead against his; her eyes a soft glowing amber of a content psychic.

Lash's hazel eyes stared into the pretty jeweled toned eyes of Olivia and wasn't afraid. When he first saw her unearthly eyes, he was a bit jarred but now they were the most beautiful he had ever seen. She smiled warmly at him, feeling his affection for her and wished he could feel that she returned his feelings.

"Don't worry about me guy, I can take care of myself."

She left him with that and headed to the floor, leaving Lash slightly flabbergasted and not sure what exactly just happened.

The two Elite teammates stood next to each other, mere moments from battling the reigning champs of Sky High. The pyro and super strong teen were going to be a tough match, there was no denying that but they were trained in a limited capacity. The Elite were trained to be ready for any enemy and any situation. If Dom and Olivia couldn't beat Peace and Stronghold with force then they'd defeat their opponents with tactical precision. Olivia had a plan...Dom only wished he knew what the hell it was.

"So Miss Viridian, what exactly is your plan?" Dom asked with a fake casualness as he steadied himself to fight two very worthy opponents. The firestarter looked angry and the flyer could do more damage with his pinky than a laser pistol set on kill.

"You go after Peace; I'm going to need you to break his wrists or arms. His power is tied to them, he can't create fire without them."

"I'll have to get up close to do that, I'll get singed at the very least."

"I told you this was going to hurt. Be careful though because he is a capable fighter. So like I said at the meeting, hit fast and hard; whatever you do, do not back down. If you get too far away he'll flame up and you won't be able to get close enough again. You'll get burnt but the damage won't be as bad if you disable him quicker. So break him as soon as possible then come help me if you can."

"You know this isn't what Sergeant trained me for, it isn't why he taught me those moves."

"I know but sometimes you have to go into a grey area to get what you want."

Dom was slightly uncomfortable with what Olivia was telling him to do as it went against the values Valhalla had instilled in them; but he remembered Boomer's sneer as the adult made him a Sidekick. He ignored his gut telling him he was abusing what he was taught and told himself it was for the greater good.

"So what exactly is your plan with Stronghold? He can fly away and you can't."

"Perhaps not but I have pretty good aim if you recall."

Dom looked around and saw what she was talking about and guessed what her plan was. It wasn't a terrible one but it definitely wouldn't stop Will.

"And what's your end game? Hitting him with a few props isn't going to do much."

"It's not the props that are going to stop him, I just need him to get low enough for me to get a ride."

"That's what she said."

"Nice"

The whistle blew and the match began. They were the villains so they were on the defensive. They had to stop the heroes from getting to the dummy so they went straight for Peace and Stronghold rather than wait for the other Supers to make a move.

The first punch Will did not see coming because he did not believe the little psychic could pack such a wallop. She had perfect form and her aim was dead on as her fist collided with his jaw. It didn't hurt; he was more surprised than anything. Most never took him on directly and to have this slight girl do so was a first for him. The second and third strike at his neck and side respectively he absorbed with no damage but it was apparent the psychic was out for his blood.

It was clear to him that she more than enough experience with hand to hand combat; something he hadn't seen since he saw his mother fight off Big Kahuna's henchmen single-handedly. He recognized her moves as krav magra, so she was trying to disarm him quickly and with as much force as possible. Every evasive maneuver he tried was swiftly countered with a different attack. Even though he was being viciously assaulted, he couldn't bring himself to hit her back. So he did what he always did when the fight wasn't going in his favor, he flew up to either get the advantage back or leave the threat altogether. His job was the save the citizen, not brutalize females.

Olivia was ready for his flight and quickly went to a nearby mailbox. She gave it a quick kick and knocked it off its bolts; she then picked up the metal device and swung in a circle to gain momentum and with marksman like aim hit Stronghold right in his side as he was about to get the dummy. It knocked him off course but did not slow him down. Will Stronghold was nearly invincible but he couldn't completely defy physics. So she did the same with the park bench and street lamp, expertly stalling the flyer from his goal. He was not coming back to the ground anytime soon though and that was a glitch in Olivia's plan.

Good thing for her that while Stronghold wasn't willing to fight her in person, he was willing to save his friend.

Warren was evenly matched physically with the un-lockable teen but Dom had much more experience and training. Unlike Will, Warren was never one to run away from anything so the first few hits from Dom were jarring but he soon got his bearings and fought off the Val student. He blocked Dom's constant attacks and soon he was in a holding pattern. Dom had Warren's arm behind the pyro's back and wasn't about to let go. He powered up, assuming the Val student would instantly let release him.

He was surprised when not only did Dom not let go but put more pressure on his arm. Warren could take a hit but he was still vulnerable to brute force.

The smell of cooking pork soon filled his nose and he knew Dom was getting severe burns but still his opponent did not release him.

Dom was about to faint from the pain but did his best to work through it, he knew that his future depended on it. It was his last year and he couldn't fall behind in Sidekick class. It was not an option so he used all the training he had for the past three years to keep his wits about him and focus on the task at hand. He needed to bring Warren Peace down and he quickly took inventory of his situation. They were in a holding position, both evenly matched and neither willing to let go. So Dom knew he had to knock Warren off his game and he planned what he could do.

He was soon losing his grip on the pyro as the heat was becoming unbearable. Soon he wouldn't have use of his hands and then he'd be more or less useless. So he sent out a burst of his power and anything that was locked was soon unlocked.

All the doors and windows swung open as well as all devices opened to their main menu, no code needed. Warren's grip on the Dom also released against his will and the sudden forced unhanding shocked the pyro enough for the Val student to gain the upper hand.

Dom knocked Warren off his feet and with the last bit of strength in his hands he lifted the firestarter's arm; then with a swift, well placed, and powerful stomp broke the dark haired teen's arm at his elbow joint.

Warren let out a pained yelp as he heard a popping sound; he knew Dom had broken his arm. The pain radiated through his entire body and he had not known such agony as before. He instinctively grabbed the injured arm and tried to get away from his combatant, knowing he was beat and did not want to fight any longer.

Warren didn't have anything to worry about as Dom was in his own world of hurt. Olivia wasn't kidding when she said the match would hurt but this was beyond anything he had experienced. He'd had broken bones and more scrapes than he could count but the burns he was sustaining went deeper than any cut he'd ever received. His hands were marred with second degree burns and blistering. Through his pain he was glad that he was feeling anything because from his studies if it were painless then it meant the burn had gotten deep enough to kill off nerve cells; and if that happened, the hands might need amputation. So when he saw that Warren was out for the count, he was too. He only hoped that Olivia didn't actually need him because he was not in any position to help her.

As soon as Warren went down, Will was on his way to help his injured friend. The game of STC had gotten out of hand quickly and he wasn't sure what was wrong with the Val students but it was clear to him that they were too ruthless in combat.  
Before his feet even touched the floor, Olivia was on his back. He thought the fight was over but Olivia didn't get the memo.

The psychic was too in combat mode to hear anything. She had one objective and one only and that was to defeat Will Stronghold. She still hadn't accomplished what she was supposed to and her window of opportunity was shrinking quickly. Boomer had blown the whistle to end things when Warren went down but she read the rules, the game wasn't over until the clocked stopped. The coach was only stopping the game because his precious Peace was hurt. He had never stopped a game before but because one of his best players was immobile he thought that somehow granted him the authority to end the game. Well there were no time outs in the real world and Olivia wasn't about to give them one. So she when she saw that Stronghold was low enough for her to get to him and he was distracted to boot, it was an opening too good to pass up.

She jumped on his back and didn't let go. Will tried to shake her off but the clairvoyant was stubborn.

"_OK, psychic; if this is how you want to play, lets go for a ride_," Will thought, tired of the game and adamant about putting the girl in her place.

Will didn't know but it was exactly what Olivia wanted. It was the final phase of her plan. Warren and Dom were hurt; now it was her turn. She just needed to get Will in the perfect position and then things would fall into place.

Will zoomed around the gym, everyone watching in amazement at the fight as it unfolded. The Sky High students had never seen such a sight; someone was actually putting the reigning champs a run for their money. Layla watched in horror as those she cared about fought and got hurt. She was really worried for Olivia since she knew that Will carried deep rooted prejudice taught by his father. She knew it wasn't his fault since Mr. Stronghold had taught him to distrust psychics but she had hope that Will would break away from his father's dogma and end the cycle of bigotry. But seeing how Olivia and Dom fought, her worries were redirected to her friend and boyfriend.

There wasn't anything she could do as they were ignoring Coach Boomer's shouts to stop and she didn't know if bringing in plants would do anything. She just watched helplessly as the two super teens struggled in the air.

Will had flown up to the ceiling, hoping the impact would knock Olivia loose but she was prepared for it. She was as high as possible and took a deep breath.

"_This is it. No going back now_."

She adjusted herself to the position she needed to be in and put Will in a chokehold. She wasn't trying to strangle him so she only put pressure on his cartoid arties located on either side of his airway, cutting off blood to his brain and causing immediate cerebral ischemia.

Will Stronghold was nearly invincible, no brute force would hurt him...but he needed oxygen like the rest of them.

Stronghold lost consciousness in matter of seconds and they both plummeted towards the floor. She knew that the impact wouldn't hurt him, so Dom was surprised to see that she forced herself to a position where she'd take the impact, going against the first thing they were taught which was how to fall properly.

Time seemed to have stopped and not because Emma was there; they saw as if in slow motion, Olivia hit the gym floor with a macabre crunch; several of her bones broke on impact and the wind was knocked out of her. They all watched for what felt like an eons but was only mere seconds, not sure what to do.

The Val students were the only ones quick to react, all rushing down to the arena to help their peers out.

"Jesus, someone get them to the healing tubs, NOW!" Jonah barked out as he checked Olivia for consciousness.

Unfortunately for her she was wide awake and feeling every pain of every broken bone she had.

Her right foot was at an unnatural angle and when a random Sky High student caught sight of it; the broken bone sticking slightly out and blood seeping out, he lost his lunch and the crowd he was in gave him plenty of room as they scattered away from the vomit.

"What the fuck Olivia?" Jonah asked, trying to keep her awake.

"Looking back, perhaps this was not the best plan I've ever had," she responded, grimacing as she tried to breathe normally.

"Oh God, Will are you alright? Will wake up!" Layla sobbed at her unconscious boyfriend. "What did you do to him?"

"Relax Greenpeace Barbie, she put a bloodchoke on him. He'll be out for a while but he's fine," Maddie told the distraught redhead.

"Where the hell are the gurneys? We need to get them to a healing tank, now!" Jonah asked again, getting impatient by the useless Sky High students.

"We don't have gurneys or healing tanks here. I called 911 and they're prepping Chiron for them. We need to get them to the bus docks and get them there as quickly as possible," Coach Boomer told the Val students, trying to get a handle on the situation.

"What do you mean you don't have healing tanks? What the hell kind of school is this that they aren't equipped to deal with injuring sustained during training?"

"Hey, we've never needed them before and most students know that when I blow the whistle, it means stop."

"Right, because in a real life situation Villains are going to stop when a whistle blows. Everybody here are such tossers!" Kerry added in as he took off his shirt. The other Val males and Lash did the same as they made a makeshift palanquin for Olivia.

They expertly hoisted her up and quickly ran for the bus depot. Maddie went to check on the males as she texted Emma to get outside the school ASAP.

The water bender created cool but not cold water around Dom's burns to help with the pain and swelling. She took sterile bandages she had in her bag's first aid kit and wrapped them as gently as she could; when she was done, Kerry and her helped Warren up. The pyro was not happy to accept help from the teen that broke his arm but he was not in the position to refuse and it did seem as if the Val kids knew what they were doing.

* * *

**Outside the school...**

Lash's heart was racing a mile a minute as he saw the girl he was quickly becoming infatuated with fall from the ceiling and hurt herself. He hated that her normally pretty smiling face was contorted in pain and there was nothing he could do to help besides carry her to the buses. He didn't think about school any longer and wasn't about to leave her side. So when they got to the flying vehicle, he was adamant about staying by her side. The other Val kids didn't argue and knew that Olivia would be pissed if they got in the way.

"Is this what you call 'taking care of yourself?'" he asked her, trying to distract her from the pain as she lie in the aisle between the bus seats.

"You know, they say that when the body goes through trauma it goes into shock; it's supposed to release endorphins so you can't feel anything...what a crock of **shit**."

Lash let out a nervous laugh and couldn't believe she would try to be funny while she was gravely injured.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Hey, we won didn't we? I say I 'took care' the shit out of myself."

"Jesus, where are the others? We need to get you to Chiron like now."

"What the fuck Olivia?" Emma said as she boarded the bus, angry and worried about her friend at the same time.

"Jeez is everyone going to ask me that? I broke a little bone, what's the big deal?"

"Big deal? You shattered your ankle and probably broke your coccyx; Dom has second degree burns on both hands and up his arm; Warren's arm is broken; Maddie tells me you forced Lyndsey and Baden to fight when you know they can't win; what the hell is your plan?"

"We need our parents to see that Sky High isn't equipped to take care of us and Sky High parents need to know their children aren't getting the best Hero training they can; or at least know that we're too advanced for them and therefore pitting their children against us is not a good idea. I'm sure all of this will come up at the PTA meeting tomorrow."

"And that's why you had me sit out?"

"I had you sit out because you would have coddled Lyndsey and taken her place. I needed someone who wouldn't be able to defeat Warren and Will; I also needed to set up Boomer to be goaded into putting me and Dom in the ring. I also couldn't have you accidentally using your powers to stop me from falling. With students severely injured and Sky High not being able to handle them, my parents will have no choice but to see that things need to change. I need you to do something for me."

"I am not getting hurt for this. Isn't three of you enough?"

"No, I need you to talk to Layla."

"Talk to her about what?"

"Tell her that this sort of things happens all the time to Sidekicks and lesser powerful Heroes; maybe not to this degree but they are injured enough to be taken to Chiron. Try to do it within ear shot of Larry Berman."

"The rock shifter kid? Why?"

"Emma! I'm in an inordinate amount of pain, could you _just do it_?"

"Fine, I'll try my best. What else?"

"Tell her that students need to voice their concerns more and that PTA should be more than just the adults deciding their future. She'll go from there."

"Fine, Jesus Liv. One of these days you're going to kill yourself."

"Naw, I'd miss me too much."

Dom and Warren finally got to the bus and they were on their way to the hospital that catered to the Super population.

"Jay-sus, they don't even have any pain hypo-shots to give us?" Olivia complained but was somewhat comforted by Lash stroking her hair.

She turned and saw that Warren and Dom were leaning against the bus windows, obviously in pain and a part of her wondered if putting them through the agony was worth getting her way.

"Warren, how're you doing?" she asked the pyro who chose to sit as far away from everyone as possible.

The taciturn teen merely glowered at her and she sensed that he was in a lot of pain and was not in the mood to talk to her at all.

" OK, pissed off and glower-y…so the usual. Hey Dom, how are you holding up?"

"Liv…I'm pretty sure I hate you right now," He gritted out. She didn't take him seriously since they've been teammates forever and she knew for a fact that this was not the worst injury he's sustained since becoming Elite.

"Dude, don't be such a pussy. Take a knee and drink some water," she told him without mercy.

There was a brief pause then both Val students burst into laughter before they stopped when the pain from laughing became too much.

When Olivia saw Lash's confused expression she explained,

"Inside joke…you'd have to have gone through Valhalla and had Sergeant Williams to get it."

Lash nodded his head and accepted the explanation although he felt a little outside the loop. Even though he hung around the new kids, it was very apparent that there were a lot of things he wasn't privy to and that still waters ran deep. He was glad he wasn't involved in the "grand plan" Olivia had devised but a small part of him was apprehensive.

Royal Pain was a criminal mastermind and he couldn't help but have a sense of déjà vu when he dealt with Olivia. Her pragmatic approach to life and the seamless way she manipulated people was slightly off putting and he worried if he was repeating history. Perhaps he was jumping to conclusions but he felt that Olivia was a little ruthless in getting her way as he saw Dom and Warren's injuries. His emotions conflicted as the nagging feeling of distrust grew and his infatuation of the psychic waged war within him. He liked it when she kissed him, more than liked, but seeing the chaos she brought about reminded him too much of the Homecoming incident.

Olivia's injuries prevented her from reading Lash's conflicting emotions and she would soon wonder if getting her way was worth the damage she's caused.

**A/N: Again, thanks so much for all those who follow, fav, and review. I hope you all continue to enjoy the fic. **


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